Jose Mourinho and Roma fined €40,000 for pre-match referee comments ahead of Sassuolo victory with fee donated to charity

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) found Mourinho guilty of making 'harmful comments' following an investigation and subsequently confirmed a plea agreement on Friday. The fine will be split equally between Mourinho and Roma with the proceedings going to AIL (Italian Leukaemia Association), an Italian NGO specializing in scientific research for treating leukaemias, lymphomas, and myeloma.

Before the match against Sassuolo, Mourinho went on a rant against the match official and accused him of not having "the emotional stability" to conduct a top-flight league match where the stakes are high. He also aimed a dig at VAR, Marco de Bello, and condemned him for bringing "bad luck" to Roma.

Speaking to reporters, Mourinho said: "The referee worries me, we've had him three times as fourth official and the feeling is that he doesn't have the emotional stability for a match of this level. His profile doesn't leave me calm, not even the one who will be on the VAR, he's a referee with whom we've always had bad luck".

Mourinho had the last laugh against Sassuolo despite trailing by a goal until the final quarter. Paulo Dybala equalised and Rasmus Kristensen scored the winner to hand Roma a crucial victory away from home.

Roma are on a six-match unbeaten run across all competitions and would hope to get another win against Bologna on Sunday to further consolidate their position in fourth in Serie A.