Mourinho banned 2 Serie A matches for 'worst referee' rant

Jose Mourinho will miss the opening two matches of the Serie A season after Italy's football federation handed the Roma coach a 10-day ban for calling a referee "the worst" he had ever seen.

In a statement, the FIGC's disciplinary tribunal said that Mourinho would serve the ban "from the beginning of the next league season" which starts on the weekend of August 19-20.

Mourinho and Roma were both fined 50,000 euros ($54,000) for his comments about Daniele Chiffi, which came after Roma's 1-1 Italian league draw at Monza early last month.

The 60-year-old clashed with Chiffi during the match and afterwards said he was "the worst referee I have encountered in my entire career".

"He is awful, he doesn't make any human connection and he has no empathy," he added.

Roma finished sixth in Serie A last season and were losing Europa League finalists.