Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho appeared before Uefa’s appeal panel Friday to challenge his five-match ban from Champions League matches then left before the verdict.
Mourinho emerged from Uefa headquarters with a team of club lawyers after a six-hour hearing. A ruling is expected later Friday.
The Portuguese coach appeared sullen and did not respond to questions. He previously said he was due at a team training session in Madrid later in the afternoon.
Mourinho accused Uefa and its referees of a long-standing conspiracy to help rival Barcelona after his team lost 2-0 in a semifinal first-leg match in April. He was also sent from the dugout during the game.
Uefa’s disciplinary body ruled that Mourinho made “inappropriate” comments, and also fined him $71 000.
Mourinho is currently banned from entering the dugout and changing rooms, or communicating with players and coaches, at Madrid’s next three group-stage matches.
He was banned for the return leg in Barcelona and another match of his ban was suspended for three years.
Under Uefa rules, Mourinho can later appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if his final sanction is at least three matches.
Mourinho’s rant at the European football authority and its referees came after his team was outplayed by Barcelona at its home Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on April 27.
He was attempting to become the first coach to lead three different clubs to become European champions in the competition’s 56-year history.
His outburst helped ensure that media coverage of an eagerly anticipated, but one-sided, match focused on him as much as his team.
In a post-match news conference, Mourinho listed the referees who he said gave Barcelona favorable decisions in Uefa matches.
“Every semifinal the same thing always happens. Por que? I’ll live my whole life with this question but I hope one day to get the answer,” Mourinho said.
Mourinho described it as a “scandal” that Chelsea, his former club, was denied penalty appeals against Barcelona in 2009.
It was a “miracle” that Mourinho’s 10-man Inter Milan eliminated Barcelona in the semifinals last year, he said.
Mourinho was angered when Madrid was reduced to 10 men early in the second half when midfielder Pepe was shown a red card for a challenge on Dani Alves.
German referee Wolfgang Stark then dismissed the Madrid coach who was also seen on television directing sarcastic comments at the fourth official.
A volatile encounter between the Spanish rivals also saw a scuffle between players from both teams behind the dugouts as they left the field at half time.
Barcelona advanced to the final after the return leg was drawn 1-1.
The Catalan club won its third European title in five years by beating Manchester United 3-1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. — Sapa-AP