Mourinho faces punishment over Juventus slur

Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho will face disciplinary action over his inflammatory remarks in the wake of his side’s 3-3 draw with AS Roma at the weekend, the Italian football federation announced on Wednesday.

Roma were angered by a penalty awarded to Inter when they trailed 3-1 and Mourinho responded by complaining about “intellectual prostitution” and claiming that second-placed Juventus had this season “won a lot of points thanks to refereeing errors”.

The former Porto and Chelsea coach’s remarks will be investigated by the league’s disciplinary panel.

The penalty was awarded for a foul by defender Marco Motta on Inter’s young striker Mario Balotelli, who converted the spot-kick himself before taunting the Roma fans behind the goal by putting his index finger to his lips in a ‘shushing’ gesture.

Balotelli will also face investigation for his actions, along with Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi, who appeared to criticise the referee when he said “if referees are allowed to make mistakes, I don’t understand why they should always be made in the same direction”.

Disciplinary measures have already been taken against Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, suspended for one match for addressing the fourth official in a “provocative and insulting manner”, while Roma were fined 8,000 euros after their fans racially abused Balotelli, who is of Ghanaian origin.

Reigning champions Inter lead Serie A by seven points from Juventus, while Roma are sixth in the table.