Bharath Rammr
Jose Mourinho’s position at Manchester United seems to be no closer towards happiness, as he has just been hit with a second English FA charge in the space of a week. Mourinho has been increasingly agitated in recent weeks as his Manchester United team struggles to get results. A goalless draw against Burnley at home is not a result United would be happy with, and the game also marked Mourinho being sent to the stands for the first time in his United career. His angry confrontation with referee Mark Clattenburg during the halftime break appears to have resulted in more than just a sending-off.
The Portuguese now stands to receive at least a few matches of touchline ban along with a hefty fine. Mourinho is no stranger to such controversies, but such controversies usually occur when his team are not functioning well. United, though, were quite brilliant against Burnley and created numerous opportunities. They were also right to be aggrieved at Clattenburg not giving the home team a penalty. It is also thought to be the reason behind Mourinho’s outburst at the referee. The manager was not later seen in the post-match press conference.
This is the second FA charge after the manager was recently found guilty of questioning the referee’s bias before the game against Liverpool. Mourinho was expected to face a touchline ban for this incident and it could now be doubled as a result of the latest charge.
Jose Mourinho has been charged with misconduct following @ManUtd‘s @premierleague game against @BurnleyOfficial on Saturday: pic.twitter.com/g0nsgNab27
— The FA (@FA) November 1, 2016
Mourinho set the objective of winning the league title in his first season at Manchester United. However, the club have now fallen eight points behind table leaders Manchester City. No wins in the last four league matches is starting to hurt the club quite badly. Known for being adamant in his philosophies, even Mourinho seems to be recognizing this element. It has resulted in midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger returning to the first-team training after several months in the wilderness.
The German, who is a World Cup winner, was never given a look in by Mourinho and he was alienated immediately upon his arrival. The injury to Marouane Fellaini coupled with multiple issues in terms of balance in the midfield seems to have resulted in Schweinsteiger being brought back to the first-team.
The result of all the altercations with the English FA is likely to be clear in the next few weeks. In a touchline ban could not come at a much worse time for Mourinho given that the December fixture list is just around the corner. It is the time of the year when all the clubs face fixture congestion with games coming thick and fast.
United face league strugglers Swansea City during the weekend.
