Roma Fans reportedly attacked Anthony Taylor and his family at Budapest Airport on Thursday after Europa League Final defeat.
Futballnews posted a clip on Twitter showing Taylor and his family being ushered out of a cafe and into a secure area by airport security.
This was as a result of Roma fans harassing the referee following an ill-tempered final on Wednesday evening.
Budapest Airport released a statement saying criminal proceedings had begun against a man who had been charged with affray after the incident.
The statement read: “Fans of the losing Roma team recognised the referee in the food court of the airport, where he was waiting for his flight to depart.”
“Thanks to the airport operator’s close co-operation with the Police and the increased Police presence at the airport during the arrival and departure of the fans, the authorities intervened immediately, and the referee was escorted to a lounge and boarded his flight safely, accompanied by Police officers.”
“The Italian citizen involved in the incident was apprehended by the Police and criminal proceedings have been initiated on charges of affray.”
“There were no further disturbances at the airport following the Police response to this isolated incident. Budapest Airport and the Police wish to make it clear that there is zero tolerance towards violence of any kind towards passengers or staff working at the airport.”
PGMOL also released a statement saying: “PGMOL is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.”
“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final. We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family.”
What Happened in Roma V Sevilla Match?
Sevilla beat Roma on penalties to give Jose Mourinho his first defeat in a European final with the final seeing 14 yellow cards.
The card issued by Anthony Taylor was the most ever in a Europa League game, and play almost 30 minutes of stoppage time in total.
Roma coach Mourinho was seen directing a string of expletives toward the officials in a car park, labelling their performance a “disgrace” after the final.
The former Chelsea and United coach, who never lost a European final prior to that game, still took to post-match press conference to blast the officiating.
He said: “I need to defend my lads, and I must say that we are used to it, but still seeing this kind of refereeing in a European final is really, really hard.”
Roma doubled down, and on Thursday, Tiago Pinto, their general manager, spoke to the Italian media, saying: “We at AS Roma don’t want to raise doubts about Sevilla’s merits. We believe that with our opponents we put on a great final and honoured the stage offered to us by UEFA in the best way.”
“We don’t usually comment about these types of situations but we’ve analysed both the most glaring incidents and those seemingly less evident and it is clear that in disciplinary terms the refereeing of the match was not balanced.”
Roma and their fans were not happy with the officiating in the game neither was their coach and players after the defeat.
Whether there would be actions against Jose Mourinho is still under contention as UEFA is waiting for the referee’s report on the match.
