Anthony Taylor's response to abuse as referee breaks cover following airport mob

Anthony Taylor called for a change in attitude towards referees before he was attacked at Budapest airport.

Taylor took charge of Thursday's dramatic Europa League final in which to Sevilla defeated Roma on penalties.

Roma boss Jose Mourinho was so furious with some of Taylor's decisions that he waited for him in the car park after the match to shout abuse in his direction.

Taylor and his family were later subject to a disgusting attack by Roma supporters as they made their way through the airport, sparking outrage across the footballing world.

He has since been spotted on a walk with his wife, and while Taylor could not have predicted such abhorrent scenes, he did call for calmer attitudes towards referees back in February.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, he said: "Just more understanding and more empathy. So again, yes mistakes are made and we're far from perfect.

"Far from perfect. But there's many other facets that contribute to the result of a football match," he told the High Performance Podcast in February.

"And so maybe reflect. Before you start trying to blame on individual, maybe try and consider. Very difficult I appreciate objectively after a team's loss. Consider the things that go into what's been decided and try to understand why something has been done."

Mourinho has since been charged with 'insulting and abusive language' against Taylor, with UEFA cracking down on abuse towards referees.

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey branded Mourinho's behaviour towards Taylor "appalling", suggesting a six-match ban should be in order for the Portuguese manager.

"The post-match actions from Roma boss Mourinho by following Prem ref Taylor and other match officials were out of order, but the volley of abuse was even worse. I have never seen that sort of appalling behaviour from a manager towards an official," he wrote in his column for The Sun.

"Refs, like players, try to perform at the best of their ability and Taylor’s display was admirable under extreme pressure. In fact, I was proud of his performance because Wednesday’s final was evil and a no-win situation for the officials.

"It reminded me of a Sunday league football match and the technical area became unmanageable. Both sides lost discipline and there were 16 yellow cards but the punishments were all deserved.

"I felt for Taylor - what else could he do? His only other course of action would have been to show several red cards.

"I would deduct Sevilla and Roma three points from their next European campaigns with another three suspended for the rest of the group stage.

"And I would also ban Mourinho - wherever he goes - for six games because of his unacceptable conduct."

Topics: Jose Mourinho, AS Roma, Europa League, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno