Tag: Anthony Taylor

Europa League final referee, family abused by Roma fans at airport

Ugly scenes at the airport as Anthony Taylor attempted to leave Budapest

A Roma fan was arrested by Hungarian police after fans threatened Europa League final referee Anthony Taylor and his family at Budapest’s airport on Thursday.

The arrest comes one day after Roma fans spotted Taylor and his family about to board a flight home, with many loudly chanting at and mobbing the group. Security staff intervened, but not before video showed drinks and a chair being thrown in Taylor’s direction.

A statement from Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport and local police published by The Mirror said that “Anthony Taylor, the referee of the UEFA Europa League final, was involved in an incident at Ferenc Liszt International (Budapest) Airport yesterday evening. Fans of the losing Roma team recognized the referee in the food court of the airport, where he was waiting for his flight to depart,” before later adding that “the Italian citizen involved in the incident was apprehended by the police and criminal proceedings have been initiated on charges of affray.”

Fans react after Mourinho rage

Taylor was the referee for a contentious Europa League final that ended with Roma falling on penalty kicks to Sevilla. The match featured a record 14 yellow cards, and Roma manager Jose Mourinho focused most of his post-game remarks on criticizing Taylor, strongly implying a bias against the Roman side.

Mourinho then followed up his press conference tirade by waiting in the team bus parking lot to call Taylor a “f—–g crook” with enough vigor that a staffer was seen restraining him. Mourinho was, predictably, charged by UEFA for the whole episode.

While it’s easy to write that off as Mourinho being Mourinho — over the last few months alone, he’s called one of his own players a traitor, was sent off for yelling at referees in a loss to Cremonese, jeered children, and wore a wire while coaching — there’s a big difference between harsh words in a press conference or from the touchline compared to physically waiting around to accost a referee in a parking lot.

While there are failures of security involved in sending a referee of a big match to a public food court among fans of the defeated team, the general air around how the game was officiated could have been tamped down by Mourinho and others. Taking the step from disagreement with calls to accusations of outright bias creates an atmosphere where referees are pressured, intimidated, or outright put in danger.

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Mourinho waits in parking lot to tell referee he’s a ‘f—–g disgrace’

The Roma manager didn’t think he got enough face time with Anthony Taylor during the game

José Mourinho was not a fan of referee Anthony Taylor’s performance in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

The Roma manager said so in his post-game press conference after his side fell on penalties to Sevilla following a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.

But that wasn’t enough for the Portuguese manager. Mourinho also wanted to again tell Taylor to his face how displeased he was. So he waited outside the Roma team bus to find the referee and tell him that his performance was a “f—–g disgrace” and that the Englishman and his fellow referees were “f—–g crooks.”

Mourinho goes off in press conference

Prior to the parking lot confrontation, Mourinho told the media exactly how he felt about Taylor and his crew.

“The referee seemed like he was Spanish,” Mourinho said. “The result was not fair, and there are a lot of instances to reexamine.”

Some of those instances included Taylor not giving Roma a penalty kick in the second half after an alleged handball, as well as the referee not sending Erik Lamela off for a second yellow card.

“This is a European final, and with this kind of refereeing, it is hard to accept. If we talk about refereeing situations, it’s not two or three: it is many, quite apart from the big decisions. Those of us who have been in football a long time realize immediately what is going on,” Mourinho said.

“[Lorenzo] Pellegrini falls in box and given a yellow card; [Lucas] Ocampos did exactly the same thing and he doesn’t get one. It’s a scandal. VAR called the referee and shames Ocampos, but there’s no card given.

“Lamela — who, by the way, scored one of the penalties — deserved a second yellow but didn’t get it. And let’s not even talk about the big decisions. That’s just the small details.”

Taylor did award 14 yellow cards in the match, a new record for a Europa League final.

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Anthony Pettis vs. Roy Jones Jr., Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens headline Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1

Gamebred Boxing 4 to feature Anthony Pettis vs. Roy Jones Jr., Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens, and many more former UFC fighters.

[autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] fighting a legend in his next outing, but not in MMA.

The former UFC and WEC lightweight champion is scheduled to take on former boxing champion [autotag]Roy Jones Jr.[/autotag] in the main event of Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The event will stream on pay-per-view on UFC Fight Pass.

UFC star [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], owner of Gamebred Boxing, announced the news Monday, revealing the event and full fight card on The MMA Hour.

Pettis has no history of competing in professional boxing. He was last seen in the MMA world in August, when he lost a unanimous decision to Stevie Ray in the 2022 PFL lightweight semifinals.

On the other hand, Jones Jr. will be competing in his first fight since boxing Mike Tyson in an exhibition bout back in November 2020. The two fought to a draw. Jones Jr., 54, has a professional boxing record of 66-9. He held championships in four different weight classes, including titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. Jones Jr. also won a silver medal in boxing at the 1988 Olympics.

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In the co-main event of the card, former UFC and WEC featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] will take on former foe [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag].

The rest of the card is compiled of many other former UFC fighters as [autotag]Vitor Belfort[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Ronaldo Souza[/autotag], [autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] fights [autotag]Anthony Taylor[/autotag], and  [autotag]Pearl Gonzalez[/autotag] meets [autotag]Gina Mazany[/autotag].

Below are all the matchups announced for Gamebred Boxing 4:

  • Anthony Pettis vs. Roy Jones Jr.
  • Jose Aldo vs. Jeremy Stephens
  • Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo Souza
  • Paul Daley vs. Anthony Taylor
  • Pearl Gonzalez vs. Gina Mazany
  • Dillon Cleckler vs. Josh Burns
  • Devin Cushing vs. Damian Marciano

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Video: Dillon Danis scuffles with KSI, takes punch from Anthony Taylor in brawl at DAZN event

Dillon Danis continued to stir up drama in the combat sports world on Friday.

[autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] continued to stir up drama in the combat sports world on Friday.

After getting into a heated and nearly physical encounter with MMA star Nate Diaz outside of Madison Square Garden in New York this past weekend at UFC 281, Danis found himself in multiple more confrontational situations a few days later.

Danis, who was in Austin, Texas for Saturday’s “DAZN X Series 0003 Misfits Boxing'” event, came face-to-face with YouTube standout and part-time boxer KSI. The pair exchanged words, and KSI dared Danis to put hands on him while they were surrounded by media members.

It didn’t take long for Danis to oblige, because he slapped the hat off KSI’s head to spark a scuffle that was quickly deescalated by security.

Check out the video above.

As Danis was escorted outside, he was led into another headed situation. MMA and boxing veteran [autotag]Anthony Taylor[/autotag], who has been a past training partner of Jake Paul, and a gaggle of others were outside the hotel, and the emotions blew up from there.

Taylor chased after Danis in the midst of a crowd and landed a right hand that caused the decorated jiu-jitsu fighter and two-time Bellator veteran to briefly stumble backward. He got into it with another fighter before space was created.

Ultimately, Danis was ushered out of the area as things simmered, and he made his way further from the situation.

Check out the video of the outside scuffle below (via Twitter):

Danis, 29, is a former training partner of two-time UFC champ Conor McGregor. He hasn’t competed since June 2019, however, after taking time off and suffering a blown out knee.

Bellator president Scott Coker was asked on Thursday about Danis’ fighting future in his promotion, but he said there has been no movement.

“I don’t have an update on Dillon – I really don’t,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “If fighters are going to fight for free, please give me a call. You’re a professional athlete, you should be fighting in the cage for money. But we’ve been having a hard time getting him in the cage.”

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Paul vs. Woodley salaries: Jake Paul, Tyron Woodley paid $2 million each

Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley both received the same purse for Sunday’s Showtime boxing match.

[autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] both received the same purse for Sunday’s Showtime boxing match.

Paul and Woodley were paid $2 million each for the eight-round fight at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, according to documents obtained by MMA Junkie from the Ohio State Athletic Commission on Tuesday.

Paul defeated Woodley by split decision, improving to 4-0 in his young boxing career. It was the professional boxing debut for Woodley, who is a former UFC welterweight champion.

You can see the full list of payouts below.

Reminder: These numbers are for contracted purses only. They do not include other elements such as pay-per-view buys, percentage of ticket and merchandise sales, or discretionary bonuses the promotor may have paid.

Paul vs. Woodley results: Tommy Fury wins uneventful decision in U.S. debut

Tommy Fury wins in his U.S. debut, outpoints Anthony Taylor at Paul vs. Woodley pay-per-view event.

CLEVELAND – [autotag]Tommy Fury[/autotag] remains unbeaten in his professional boxing career.

The prospect outpointed MMA fighter [autotag]Anthony Taylor[/autotag] in a unanimous decision win at the Paul vs. Woodley pay-per-view event on Sunday night. The two competed in a cruiserweight contest set for four rounds.

The Paul vs. Woodley boxing event takes place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The card streams live on pay-per-view at 7 p.m. ET on Showtime Sports.

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Although it was a clear win for Fury, he wasn’t able to knock out or knock down the much smaller and inexperienced Taylor.

Immediately in round one Fury pressuring Taylor, backing him up with the jab. A lot of clinching throughout the first two minutes was initiated by Taylor. In the final minute Fury was tagging up Taylor with combinations, but not enough to hurt the MMA fighter. Taylor looking to clinch and dirty box with the English man.

The second, third and fourth were all in the favor of Fury. “TNT” was tagging up Taylor for the majority of the time. Taylor was unable to get a meaningful offense going and was also unable to tie up Fury in the clinch.

With the win, Fury is now 7-0 in his professional boxing career with four knockouts to his name. The 22-year-old is a former Love Island contestant and he’s the younger brother of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.

In his post-fight interview, Fury called out Jake Paul for a fight. He’s been angling a bout with the YouTube star for many months now.

Meanwhile, Taylor – an MMA fighter – entered the contest with only one professional boxing bout under his belt, which he had lost via knockout. Taylor, who usually competes at 145 and 155 pounds, is on a five-fight winning streak in MMA with his last victory coming over Chris Avila under the Bellator banner in early 2020. Taylor is now 0-2 in boxing.

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Nate Diaz protege Chris Avila added to Bellator 238

A close friend and confidant of the Diaz brothers, Chris Avila has a date, location, and opponent for his next fight.

The Diaz brothers have kept a close, tight-knit circle over the years.

Among the crew is lightweight fighter [autotag]Chris Avila[/autotag]. A multiple-time UFC and Bellator veteran, Avila (7-8 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) returns to action at Bellator 238 against [autotag]Anthony Taylor[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 1-3 BMMA).

A Bellator official confirmed the booking with MMA Junkie, following a Saturday announcement by Taylor on Twitter.

Bellator 238 takes place Jan. 25 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card will stream live on DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Since Avila was signed to the UFC in 2016, he has struggled to pick up wins. In his most recent seven fights, Avila has lost six decisions: five unanimous and one split. His lone win in that stretch came against Brandon Pieper at Bellator 212 in December 2018.

As for Taylor, the 30-year-old fighter has won his most recent four outings for notable promotions such as Combate Americas and BAMMA.

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The up-to-date Bellator 238 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg
  • Adam Borics vs. Darrion Caldwell – featherweight grand prix quarterfinal
  • Alfred Khashakyan vs. Sergio Pettis
  • Dillon Danis vs. Kegan Gennrich – 175-pound catchweight

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Aaron Pico vs. Daniel Carey
  • Mario Navarro vs. Jay Jay Wilson
  • Khonry Gracie vs. Hector Saldana
  • David Pacheco vs. Craig Plaskett
  • Brandon Bender vs. Joshua Jones
  • Dominic Clark vs. Ricardo Seixas Filho
  • Tyler Beneke vs. Jarrett Connor
  • AJ Agazarm vs. Adel Altamimi
  • Curtis Millender vs. Moses Murrietta
  • Chris Avila vs. Anthony Taylor

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