Jose Mourinho Charged with Improper Conduct After Being Sent off vs. Cardiff

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been charged with improper conduct after being sent to the stands during Saturday’s Premier League victory over Cardiff City.

Mourinho, who returned to the club this summer after spells with Inter Milan and Real Madrid, was ordered off the touchline midway through the second half by referee Anthony Taylor for his persistent badgering of the fourth official, Trevor Kettle.

The Portuguese boss had felt aggrieved over the opposition’s time-wasting on set pieces throughout the match, something which he called “rule breaking,” according to the official Chelsea website.

Speaking ahead of his club’s UEFA Champions League clash away to Schalke on Tuesday night, Mourinho said:

"

If I was in that game and if I was paying for my ticket, I would be worried by the fact every time our opponent had to put the ball in, it took [an average] of 21.5 seconds. You pay your ticket and every time the game stops you have to wait about half a minute. 

"

He continued: “That’s a waste of money.”   

Cardiff, who sit 16th in the table, had taken a surprising lead at Stamford Bridge through Jordon Mutch after the Englishman pounced on an error from David Luiz at the back before slotting past a hapless Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal.

But it was Cardiff's failure to restart the match in a timely fashion after Eden Hazard's controversial equaliser that most irked Mourinho.

Malky Mackay's side surrounded the referee after Samuel Eto'o nicked the ball off of goalkeeper David Marshall before setting up Hazard for the first of Chelsea's four goals.

According to BBC Sport, in the laws of the game the ball is considered within the goalkeeper's control when he is bouncing it, but Mourinho had no sympathy for the visiting team. The Portuguese boss called it an "intelligent action," per Sky Sports.

The win saw Chelsea leapfrog Liverpool into second place in the league table with 17 points from their opening eight matches. They currently sit two points adrift of Arsenal.

In a statement released Monday evening, the FA said Mourinho has until 6 p.m on Oct. 24 to respond to the charge.