Chelsea coach Marco Ianni has been fined £6,000 by the Football Association (FA) following his touchline clash with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
Ross Barkley’s stoppage-time goal in the 2-2 draw with United on October 20 sparked a melee involving Ianni, Mourinho and Stamford Bridge stewards.
Ianni celebrated wildly in front of the seated United boss, prompting Mourinho to react furiously and try to confront him at the entrance to the tunnel.
The former Napoli assistant coach was charged with improper conduct and the FA confirmed on Tuesday that he has accepted the sanction.
“Chelsea coach Marco Ianni has been fined £6,000 after he admitted an FA improper conduct charge,” an FA statement said. “It concerned his behaviour in the 96th minute of the game against Manchester United on October 20, 2018.”
Mourinho had called for leniency to be shown towards Ianni after accepting an apology from him and Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri.
“I don’t think he deserves more than what he got,” Mourinho said. “He apologised to me, I accept his apologies. I think he deserves a second chance. I don’t think he deserves to be sacked. I don’t think he deserves anything more than the fact his club was strong with him.
“I hope everybody does the same as I did, which is not to disturb the career of a young guy. Probably, he is a great guy, a coach with great potential.
“End of story with me, is the minute he apologised to me. Let the boy work. Everybody makes mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes.”