Jose Mourinho fined £25,000 for referee 'campaign' comments

Jose Mourinho has been fined £25,000 for comments claiming there is a "campaign" to influence referees' decisions against his Chelsea side.

Mourinho made his comments after his side were denied a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Southampton on 28 December.

The Football Association ruled Mourinho's quotes were "improper and brought the game into disrepute".

But the Chelsea boss, who was warned about his future conduct, was cleared of implying bias by referees.

During the game at St Mary's, referee Anthony Taylor booked Cesc Fabregas for diving after going down in the box under Matt Targett's challenge.

After the draw, the Stamford Bridge manager told BBC Sport: "The media, commentators, other managers are all doing it [putting pressure on referees]."

In his news conference later, he added: "There is a campaign against Chelsea. I don't know why there is this campaign and I do not care.

"Everybody knows it was a penalty."

Mourinho was also issued with a formal warning for comments ahead of Chelsea's 2-0 win at Stoke on 22 December.

The Portuguese called on referee Neil Swarbrick to produce a strong performance at the Britannia Stadium.