Mourinho fined after referee row

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was fined £10,000 (Rs 10.15 lakh) on Thursday after his sarcastic comments about the match officials following a shock defeat against Sunderland.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was fined £10,000 (Rs 10.15 lakh) on Thursday after his sarcastic comments about the match officials following a shock defeat against Sunderland.

Mourinho made a series of pointed remarks about referee Mike Dean and his assistants after Chelsea suffered a 2-1 loss to struggling Sunderland in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on April 19.

The defeat marked the end of Mourinho’s 77-game unbeaten run in league matches at the Bridge and dealt a major blow to Chelsea’s hopes of winning the Premier League.

Mourinho was enraged that Chelsea had conceded a penalty for Cesar Azpilicueta’s challenge on Jozy Altidore even though there appeared to be minimal contact with the Sunderland striker.

Chelsea’s assistant manager Rui Faria responded by launching an astonishing touchline rant at Dean and the fourth official, which saw him sent to the stands and later given a six-match stadium ban.

After the match, Mourinho described Dean’s performance as "unbelievable" and "fantastic", before moving on to referees’ chief Mike Riley, saying "what they are doing during the whole season is fantastic, especially in the last couple of months, especially in matches involving the teams that were in the title race, it’s absolutely fantastic".