Mourinho facing touchline ban after shock twist in FA probe

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Jose Mourinho is still facing a touchline ban – after the FA launched an appeal against his unproven misconduct charge.

An independent commission found an FA charge of misconduct against the Manchester United boss Mourinho not proven in a landmark ruling.

Mourinho was charged after he swore in his native Portuguese into a TV camera after United's dramatic 3-2 win over Newcastle on October 6.

The United boss said "fodas filhos de puta", roughly translated as ‘f*** off sons of b*****s" as he walked down the Old Trafford touchline following the win.

After successfully contesting the charge, Mourinho said he did so because he was “100 per cent not guilty” - but he could still end up being punished following the FA appeal.

The FA brought in lip readers and linguistics experts to build a case against Mourinho, who in turn enlisted his own language experts to fight the charge.

Mourinho's linguistics expert argued the words used by the United boss were not directed at anyone in particular and were a “personal, inwardly-directed expression of relief, happiness and determination” at the result.

The United boss also claimed the words he used were inaudible and could only be understood by people with lip-reading skills and a deep expertise in Portuguese colloquialisms.

To support his case, Mourinho also produced a list of examples where managers and players have sworn during matches and not faced FA charges.

Both sides will submit their evidence for the new commission to hear, although with the appeal hearing not scheduled until next week, Mourinho will be on the touchline for Sunday's Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.