Mourinho ban upheld on appeal

The three-match touchline ban handed down to Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho following his antics during the 0-0 draw with Sampdoria was on Friday upheld on appeal by the Federal Court of Justice.

The court, which was asked to rule on appeals made by the Italian league leaders, also upheld the two-match suspension given to Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso.

Cambiasso’s fellow midfielder Sulley Muntari, however, saw his ban reduced from two matches to one.

Mourinho was on Monday hit with a three-game ban and a 40,000-euro fine after making a handcuffs gesture during Saturday’s goalless draw against Sampdoria and apparently insulting match officials.

Muntari and Cambiasso were each banned for two matches — the first for insulting match officials, the second for attempting to strike opposition players.

Inter had defenders Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba both sent off in the first half of the game at the San Siro and have since seen their lead at the top of Serie A cut to four points.

They visit Udinese in the league on Sunday, with Mourinho also set to miss the home game with Genoa on March 7 and the trip to Catania five days later.