Liverpool took time adjusting to life back in the Europa League but for the fourth time in six matches this season they came from behind to win 3-1 against LASK in Linz.

It had been 2,682 days since they last appeared in UEFA’s second-tier competition, having played in three Champions League finals and won one, and that adaptation to a new reality took a while to bed in.

The Austrians had no such problem in the biggest game in their history as the visit of Manchester United in 2020, when they were hammed 5-0, happened behind closed doors because of the pandemic.

They were so fired up they predictably took an early lead through Florian Flecker’s brilliantly-taken goal but once Jurgen Klopp’s side came to the realisation the Europa League will be just as tough a task as the competition favourites this season’s familiar trait emerged.

Within the space of eight second-half minutes Darwin Nunez fired home a penalty and Luis Diaz converted from close range and late on substitute Mohamed Salah clinched Klopp’s 50th European victory, the most of any Anfield manager.

Pre-match the German had insisted this was not a competition for handing out “opportunities” but then proceeded to name a completely different side from that which won at Wolves at the weekend.

Not to say that it was weak with first-choice centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate at the back and Diaz and Nunez up front but in between was the untried midfield of newest signing 21-year-old Ryan Gravenberch, on his first start, and Harvey Elliott (20) either side of the 30-year-old ‘veteran’ Wataru Endo who had played just 89 minutes for Klopp’s team since his own summer move.

The real excitement was reserved for livewire winger Ben Doak, who became the club’s fourth-youngest player to play in Europe at the age of 17 years and 314 days on his first start.

But while his first real run at the LASK defence saw him glide past Rene Renner to win a corner he was starved of opportunities by a malfunctioning midfield which could not gain any control in the first half and the young Scot was replaced just past the hour.

Stefan Bajcetic’s misjudgement, the 18-year-old midfielder asked to play the Trent Alexander-Arnold hybrid right-back role, in missing a cross led to a LASK corner and the opening goal.

Flecker was picked out on the edge of the penalty area and he took a touch before drilling a shot through a crowd of players past Caoimhin Kelleher as a training-ground move paid off from their first shot on target.

Liverpool were not so clinical as Nunez headed over an inviting Elliott cross before seeing his close-range nod towards goal from Van Dijk’s header at a corner clawed out by goalkeeper Tobias Lawal.

The raucous home crowd cheered not only that but every block, every tackle, every Liverpool corner repelled, every corner won.

Liverpool’s first move of any quality brought the equaliser when Diaz was brought down by Philipp Ziereis, after Elliott, Doak and Bajcetic had combined down the right, and Nunez powered home from the spot in the 56th minute.

It was the signal for Klopp to make changes with summer signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, two of his new first-choice midfield, replacing Doak and Endo with Joe Gomez giving Bajcetic a break after his first game since March after injury.

They went ahead when Nunez brought down Gomez’s pass from deep, laid off to Elliott who sent Gravenberch racing down the right and his low cross was turned home by Diaz.

If life was not difficult enough for the hosts Mohamed Salah was introduced in the 76th minute and created two chances and had a shot inside his first 60 seconds before weaving himself into a position to poke through the legs of the goalkeeper two minutes from time.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists they are in the Europa League to win it and they arrive in Linz “to compete, not to give opportunities”.

On Thursday the Reds take on LASK as they return to a competition in which their last appearance was the 2016 final defeat to Sevilla in the German’s first season at the club.

Since then Liverpool have won the Champions League and reached two other finals and lifted the Premier League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

As it stands the Europa League is the only major trophy Klopp has not won in his near-eight years at Anfield and he wants to add that missing silverware to his honour role.

That means fans who were hoping to see exciting fringe talents like youngster Ben Doak, Harvey Elliott and new signing Ryan Gravenberch may have to wait for now.

“We are here to compete, not to give opportunities,” he said.

“My first year I thought the Europa League was a bit too much for us until we got to the final. We had to fly to Russia, played on a frozen pitch in Sion.

“That was a different squad. We were not ready and we came through somehow. I don’t think we were exceptional until the quarter-final, semi-final.

“It is a different time, a different team. We are better prepared. We enjoy it more to be here because we had no clue at that time what to expect.

“We have to be motivated and we are excited to play in the Europa League. I didn’t watch the Champions League (this week), I didn’t miss the anthem.”

None of the 2016 final squad remain at Anfield with Joe Gomez – who was 18 at the time but out injured – the only current player to have played in the Europa League for Liverpool.

But while there have been significant alterations to the playing staff this summer the core of that trophy-winning band are still together and Klopp’s side are favourites to win the competition.

However, captain Virgil van Dijk brushed off the expectations.

“It’s a reflection of the world we live in at the moment, it’s from one extreme to the other,” he said.

“We have to just stay calm and level-headed, there are so many games to play and twists and turns to happen.

“We know we had a good start but there are so many things still we need to improve. We need to stay calm.

“Everyone else from the outside world will say things but we should not worry and think about it.”

Van Dijk has had to watch from the sidelines for the last two matches due to suspension but he has been impressed with the way his team-mates have gone about their business.

And he is not the only one who has been heartened.

Klopp added: “Virgil is right. He did not play now twice and you can see something is growing.

“We were late (arriving in Linz) today and it wasn’t our fault and we were waiting around and you see they enjoy spending time with each other.”

Michael Beale believes it is time for Jose Cifuentes to step up after revealing Nicolas Raskin would miss the Europa League opener against Real Betis at Ibrox on Thursday night.

The Gers midfielder picked up a calf injury in the 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.

Raskin joins fellow midfielder Todd Cantwell and Brazilian striker Danilo on the sidelines, the latter having an operation on a fractured cheekbone sustained in scoring the first goal in Perth.

Ecuador international Cifuentes has had an unconvincing beginning to his Gers career after signing from Los Angeles FC in the summer and will vie with Ryan Jack for a midfield berth in the coming weeks.

Gers boss Beale said: “Nico is out until after the international break with a calf problem.

“He took a kick in the game and it has given him a problem. So him, Todd and Danilo are missing.

“I saw Danilo yesterday, he still looks sore if I’m honest. He had successful surgery on the areas, it is not just one area.

“He will be back in non-contact training at the back end of the international break, so ideally he will be back the first week after the October international break, but it might be a couple of weeks after that.

“The reason Cifuentes didn’t play at the weekend is that he didn’t arrive back from South America until the Friday morning where he played at altitude, so he is ready to go and Ryan Jack is there as well so it doesn’t change in us having options.

“He (Jose) came in very late and did some good things in his first couple of games. And then he was away on international duty.

“This is his moment, he has been here for a while now.

“I said recently that the new players have been here long enough now. He was the last one to come in, but I still think he is ready.”

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities as the Dons dropped into the Europa Conference League after a 3-1 defeat to BK Hacken.

Aberdeen had reason to be confident going into the second leg of the Europa League play-offs after a stunning comeback from two goals down in Gothenburg, but they could not repeat the trick at Pittodrie as they fell to a 5-3 aggregate defeat.

The Dons were chasing the game after the impressive Ibrahim Sadiq’s first-half double and could not build on Bojan Miovski’s penalty with the same player missing a glorious chance.

Amor Layouni’s spot-kick at the other end sealed victory for the Swedish champions with 15 minutes left and consigned Aberdeen to the Europa Conference League.

Robson said: “It was a brilliant performance from my players. I was so pleased with them.

“That’s a top team, and you’ll all have seen that with the front players they have got who are about to move for millions of pounds.

“We were so brave against them, and I believe we should have gone through over the tie with the amount of chances we created against them. Obviously they created chances too.

“I felt the stadium was brilliant, and the team looked like it suited each other. I’m just frustrated because of the chances we missed.

“They had one counter-attack and a wonder goal in the first half. We don’t want to sit in here, we want to have a go – and we did that.

“We could sit here and talk about a multitude of chances and that was credit to the way the boys played. They were a real good watch.

“I think the defenders played well, but the players they were up against were excellent.

“When we come up against top teams, we’re not going to go gung-ho, and you could see towards the end of last season we were built on structure. Tonight is the first time a lot of the players have played together, and you have to get that cohesion and structure.”

Aberdeen will take their place in the group stage of the Europa Conference League after a 3-1 home defeat to Swedish champions BK Hacken in the Europa League play-offs.

As in the first leg, Hacken took a two-goal lead thanks to a first-half double from Ibrahim Sadiq, who is tipped to move to AZ Alkmaar ahead of the transfer deadline.

The Dons eyed another comeback after Bojan Miovski’s VAR-assisted penalty saw him halve the deficit.

However, another VAR penalty decision saw Amor Layouni seal a 5-3 aggregate victory and his side’s spot in the Europa League.

The Dons showed three changes from the away leg, with Jamie McGrath, James McGarry and Richard Jensen all handed their first Aberdeen starts. The Swedes were without Johan Hammar, sent off late in the first leg, but were otherwise unchanged from the 2-2 first leg draw.

Similar to the first leg, the match began in wide open fashion with both sides looking dangerous going forward but vulnerable at the back.

Hacken were comfortable in possession and their 14th-minute opening goal typified that as they patiently worked the ball in front of the Aberdeen defence before Sadiq worked space to hit an unstoppable shot just inside the post from 22 yards.

Aberdeen’s more direct route saw Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes sent through one-on-one with Peter Abrahamsson only to hit straight at the goalkeeper, who raced off his line to narrow the angle

A Leighton Clarkson corner just after the half-hour found Jensen, whose flick reached NIcky Devlin at the back post, but the first-leg scorer could only turn wide of the back post.

Miovski thought he had levelled when he met another Clarkson cross, this time at the near post, but Abrahamsson this time tipped the ball on to the post to deny the North Macedonian.

Aberdeen’s profligacy would come back to bite in the 41st minute when Sadiq flicked the ball over the diving Roos as he raced onto Mikkel Rygaard’s sweet pass through the home defence.

The visitors started the second half looking to kill the game off, with Franklin Tebo heading over from a corner before Srdan Hrstic somehow contrived to blast over the bar with the goal gaping just four yards in front of him.

Aberdeen pulled a goal back almost immediately as Duk went down under Tebo’s challenge. Referee Daniel Siebert initially indicated a dive, but a VAR review saw him change his mind and award a spot-kick.

Miovski stepped up and coolly slotted home from the penalty spot in the 56th minute.

The same man could have levelled matters five minutes later as he raced on to Jensen’s ball over the top before curling agonisingly wide from 18 yards with just the keeper to beat.

Sadiq was denied a hat-trick by the upright but it was the Ghanaian who was brought down by Slobodan Rubezic for the spot-kick that saw Layouni find the bottom corner in the 81st minute, the only surprise being that it took a review to award what always looked a stonewall penalty.

The Dons pushed hard for a goal to set up a grandstand finish but ran out of time.

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson praised his team’s bravery after they came from two goals down to get a Europa League draw at BK Hacken.

Goals in the last 14 minutes from Bojan Miovski and Nicky Devlin gave the Dons an excellent platform to reach the group stages when they host the Swedish champions next Thursday night.

Aberdeen were well worth their 2-2 play-off first-leg draw and substitute Jamie McGrath had a debut goal ruled out for offside after the hosts were reduced to 10 men in stoppage-time in Gothenburg.

The Dons created chances throughout the game and were eventually rewarded for a bold approach.

Robson told RedTV: “First and foremost people need to realise they are a proper football team.

“I knew they were, I could tell by the players they moved on for a couple of million quid, and I know they have a very strong budget as well.

“I knew it was going to be a very difficult game for us.

“You could see us really pressing aggressively high and they are a really good side who can release the ball and get through you at times, and they did.

“We stayed brave with it and I thought the difference between the two halves was, when we get the pressing side right and actually started to handle the ball better…

“That’s what I said to them at half-time, all the things we work on every day with the ball, when they did that, and brought the two together, Hacken really struggled with us. We looked like a proper outfit.”

Robson added: “We are a work in progress but you can see the way we want to be and the speed we want to bring to the game, and the excitement.

“We were maybe a bit gung-ho and dangerous at times but I would rather do that than sit in.”

Nicky Devlin netted his first Aberdeen goal as the Dons came from two goals down to seal a first-leg draw against BK Hacken in Gothenburg.

Bojan Miovski and former Livingston defender Devlin both finished brilliantly within the space of four minutes as Barry Robson’s side secured a 2-2 draw in the Europa League play-offs.

The Swedish champions led through an Amor Layouni goal and an Ibrahim Sadiq penalty, which came for a handball against Jack MacKenzie after a VAR review.

But Aberdeen had created several good chances themselves and they quickly fought back in the final 15 minutes.

The Dons beat the same opponents 5-1 at Pittodrie two years ago and will be confident they can create opportunities in next Thursday’s return leg.

Returning to the city where the club beat Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup final, Aberdeen caused Hacken problems early on by pressing high up the park and winning possession in dangerous areas.

Graeme Shinnie had a shot saved and Dante Polvara had an effort blocked before being booked for a studs-up challenge that some referees might have punished further.

Kelle Roos stopped a shot from Sadiq before Aberdeen were caught exposed by one pass through their midfield in the 36th minute. Hacken had a four-against-two advantage and they worked it to Layouni to slot home.

Duk had a brilliant chance to level when Shinnie won the ball in front of the penalty box but the forward hit a weak effort straight at the goalkeeper.

The Dons had two good chances early in the second half. Miovski struck a powerful effort after a poor clearance from Ryan Duncan’s cross but the goalkeeper stretched out his leg to stop.

Polvara then ran on to Miovski’s pass after a lengthy passing move from back to front but the midfielder leaned back and blazed over.

The hosts had a decent spell and Roos made two saves from headers while Devlin put in a good block.

But the pressure paid off at a corner. MacKenzie raised his hand as he appeared to react to a team-mate jumping towards him and the Slovakian referee decided the ball had made contact after numerous looks on the VAR screen. Sadiq converted the 69th-minute spot-kick.

Robson responded by sending on two debutants – New Zealand defender James McGarry and former St Mirren and Dundee United midfielder Jamie McGrath.

McGrath was involved in the first Aberdeen goal in the 75th minute as he rolled the ball back for Clarkson to cross. Miovski took an excellent couple of touches to set himself up for an equally good finish.

Miovski played an integral part in the equaliser, playing a brilliant one-two with Clarkson, then striding forward and playing in Devlin, who ran on to the pass and dinked the ball over the goalkeeper with his left foot.

The night nearly got even better for the travelling fans. Clarkson curled a stoppage-time free-kick just over after Hacken centre-back Johan Hammar was shown a second yellow card for clinically stopping Miovski.

McGrath’s celebrations were cut short after he converted a cross from Miovski before the North Macedonian was flagged offside, while Shinnie also fired just wide nine minutes into time added on.

Aston Villa captain John McGinn is in line for an Easter Road return after his side were paired with Hibernian or Luzern in the Europa Conference League play-offs.

The Scotland midfielder will be back in Leith on August 24 if Hibs can get past the Swiss side in the third qualifying round.

McGinn spent three years with Hibs and helped them win the Scottish Cup in 2016 for the first time in 114 years, before moving to Villa in 2018.

The Champions League draw earlier saw Rangers set up for a potential reunion of their own after they were paired against PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz if they progress.

The Ibrox side were seeded in the draw but must first get past Swiss side Servette, who travel to Glasgow on Wednesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round.

The Gers beat PSV 3-2 on aggregate at the same stage last year to reach the group stage, with Antonio Colak grabbing the winner when he netted the only goal of the second leg in the Netherlands.

Sturm Graz have included former Motherwell wing-back Max Johnston in their European squad, although he has only featured for the second team since his recent move.

Rangers would be at home in the first leg of the play-offs, which take place in the final two weeks of August. Defeat against Servette would see them go straight into the Europa League group stage.

Aberdeen could also face a rematch with recent opponents after being paired with either BK Hacken or Lithuanians Zalgiris Vilnius in the Europa League play-offs. The Dons beat the Swedes 5-1 at Pittodrie two years ago.

Barry Robson’s team are assured of group-stage football as they will drop into the Europa Conference League if they lose.

Also in the Conference League, Hearts will take on Croatians Hajduk Split or Greek side PAOK if they can get past Rosenborg.

Derry City will face Czech side Viktoria Plzen or Gzira United of Malta if they can see off Tobol Kostanay of Kazakhstan.

Play-off ties take place over the last two weeks in August.

Rangers will face PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz if they progress to the Champions League play-offs.

The Ibrox side were seeded in the draw but must first get past Swiss side Servette, who visit Ibrox on Wednesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round.

The Gers beat PSV 3-2 on aggregate at the same stage last year to reach the group stage, with Antonio Colak grabbing the winner when he netted the only goal of the second leg in the Netherlands.

Sturm Graz have included former Motherwell wing-back Max Johnston in their European squad, although he has only featured for the second team since his recent move.

Rangers would be at home in the first leg of the play-offs, which take place in the final two weeks of August.

Rangers will also be involved in the draw for the Europa League play-offs, which they will drop into if they lose to Servette.

Aberdeen are also in the draw and their 15 potential opponents including Swiss side Lugano and teams who are in third-round action over the next two weeks.

Aston Villa enter the Europa Conference League qualifying stage and they could potentially be drawn against Hibernian, the previous club of captain John McGinn.

Villa will be one of the four seeded options in the same section of the draw as Hibs, who first need to beat Swiss side Luzern. Villa could potentially face the likes of Lech Poznan or Arouca of Portugal, but they will not find out their definite opponents until after the third round.

Hibs could also be in line to face the likes of AZ Alkmaar, Slavia Prague and Olympiacos.

Hearts might have a reunion with last season’s runners-up, Fiorentina, if they get past Rosenborg.

The Italians, who beat Hearts home and away in the group stage last year, are the only seeded side in the grouping who join in the play-off round. Other names in the frame for Hearts include Club Brugge and Partizan Belgrade.

Derry City are also in the draw but must get past Tobol Kostanay of Kazakhstan first.

Jose Mourinho's behaviour and the subsequent abuse of Anthony Taylor by Roma fans has led to former Premier League referee Mark Halsey calling for stricter punishments.

Taylor and his family were verbally and physically targeted at Budapest airport in the wake of Roma's Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.

Both teams felt aggrieved by some of Taylor's decisions in the game, but Mourinho was particularly vehement, and was filmed shouting abuse at the official long after the final whistle had blown.

Halsey was infuriated by what he saw.

"Everybody that's seen the footage or watched the game, I thought both teams' conduct with their players and the coaching staff was appalling," Halsey told Stats Perform.

"On the night I thought Anthony [Taylor] and his team had a superb game under the most difficult of circumstances. When players don't want to listen, it makes it so very difficult for the referee.

"The referee can only referee what's in front of him. If I was being ultra critical, perhaps they should have removed team officials from the bench. But having said that, I thought they were outstanding on the night.

"Obviously, the criticism of him in the car park when [Mourinho] volleyed abuse again, I think it's appalling, and Roma fans having seen that, I think that's what led to the scenes that we saw at the airport. As much as everybody loves Jose Mourinho, you cannot do that. You cannot condone these actions. 

"I think in the cold light of day, when he sits back down and looks at himself and his family looks at the way he behaves, I think they will think that he deserve everything that's coming his way regarding punishments."

Now, Halsey wants governing bodies such as UEFA to crack down on the abuse by enforcing points deductions.

He continued: "That was a showcase. The Premier League, the Champions League, Europa League are watched around the world by millions and millions of people, including children.

"In England, we have a problem at a grassroots level, we have a problem with youth football, we have a problem with parents. They watch that, and think they can get away with it.

"This season we've seen over £1.5million worth of fines dished out for player and team officials' behaviour on the field of play. Out of the 92 clubs, 52 have been charged £1.5m in fines. What does that tell you? That tells you that the fines are not working. 

"So we've got to start with the points deduction right at the very top. In fact, that goes for if you're playing the Champions League.

"If Roma are in the Europa League next season, and Sevilla are in the Champions League, they've got to start with a points deduction. [They've] got to hit the clubs in the pocket, and take the points away.

"Those points could stop them qualifying for the knockout stages. They've really got to come down hard on them."

As for Mourinho, Halsey hopes the Roma boss faces a significant punishment.

He said: "I just think it was absolutely appalling. I've never seen a game like that and a referee treated like that anywhere.

"Even in my time as an official, I never ever got treatment like that, and I refereed all over the world. That's why I think that UEFA has got to come down extremely hard on Roma and José as well as Sevilla for their behaviour on the field of play."

Jose Mourinho and Roma must take responsibility for their actions over the abuse of referee Anthony Taylor after the Europa League final, says Ref Support UK chief executive Martin Cassidy.

The Giallorossi were defeated on penalties by Sevilla following an ill-tempered 1-1 draw last Wednesday, bringing their coach's perfect record in continental finals to an end.

Mourinho lambasted Taylor's performance, with the Roma coach confronting the official following full-time, before fans harassed him at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport afterwards.

Cassidy, who leads a charity that offers support to match officials, suggested Mourinho's conduct exacerbated matters, and that both him and his club need to own up to their actions.

"My reaction was shock, but not surprise," he told Stats Perform. "I just hope that Anthony and his family are well and safe. To see the way it's manifested itself [is awful].

"I believe Jose Mourinho needs to take a chunk of responsibility here for this gerrymandering he has been doing that's resulted in this. Roma fans don't need any encouragement to behave in the way that the video has shown.

"It'd be really good to see Roma come out and condemn misbehaviour. I haven't seen it. It'd be really good if Jose Mourinho would come out and condemn this behaviour.

"It'd be great to see where UEFA are in this and what they want to do and what went wrong. Hundreds of referees go out each season abroad [and] we don't have these situations happen.

"It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that that was going to be a very hostile situation for Anthony."

Cassidy also reiterated fears that the abuse surrounding Taylor could have a further negative effect on grassroots officials, who already are forced to deal with harassment and improper conduct.

"How he kept his manner so calm when that was going on just shows the strength of character and emotional intelligence that Anthony Taylor has got," he added.

"[But] we're talking about the guy who had worldwide praise for how he responded to Christian Eriksen when he collapsed on a pitch.

"This isn't some run-of-the-mill, meat-and-two-veg ref we are talking about here. If he can find himself in these situations, what hope have grassroots referees got?

"It's a terrible end to the season for him. It should have ended on a highlight. You know if it wasn't for Manchester City getting to the Champions League final, I dare say that Anthony Taylor would have been doing [that].

"He will be devastated that it's ended this way, when it should be on an absolute peak of achievements. But I really believe that he will be getting supported.

"It's going to take a long time for [him] to get over his family being in that position. I think it'll take a long time for anyone to get over.

"Praise to him, he never reacted, he was controlled. He looked after his family and he got them out of that situation. But shame on Roma and shame on Jose Mourinho."

Football's governing bodies must do more to protect referees amid a "considerable rise" in abuse that has often been met with a "silent" response.

That was the message from Ref Support chief executive Martin Cassidy, who referenced issues with Bruno Fernandes, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andrew Robertson in the Premier League this season.

Fernandes appeared to make contact with an assistant referee in Liverpool's 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United, while Mitrovic was banned for eight games after pushing Chris Kavanagh.

Robertson was another involved in an altercation with an official, when assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis seemingly made contact with the Liverpool left-back with his elbow, though the official faced no further punishment after an investigation.

A couple of seasons earlier, former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero came under scrutiny for placing his hand on the shoulder of assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during a home victory over Arsenal. 

Cassidy believes the response to the rise in these issues has been inadequate, calling on the likes of the League Managers Association (LMA) and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to do more.

He told Stats Perform: "From a domestic point of view, what's been going on over here with the situations that [there has been] a considerable rise in contact with match officials from what's happened with Sian Massey-Ellis, Bruno Fernandes, Mitrovic, Robertson – it’s on the rise.

"When's it going to stop? And there are people who are silent on this who shouldn't be silent on this – the LMA, the PFA and even the Football Supporters' Association, they're all quiet on this, they comment on everything else.

"They will talk all these white papers and governments, and they tweet about enough is enough about things [that are important] to them, but they never come out and publicly condemn their behaviour by their members.

"The LMA never do it. We wrote to them, and we got a very benign, weak response. [The] PFA never say anything about the behaviour of their players – their members.

"Certainly, there never seems to be any stance from supporters associations who really want to stand up and say: 'Look, we are going to do something here, what's the protocols, what's the code of conduct for managers in the LMA, what is the code of conduct for a professional footballer with regard to how they behave with these post-match comments here?'

"So, there are a lot of silent people here who need to step up like the FA have in this country. When these people criticise the FA, the LMA and the PFA need to look at themselves and say what they are doing to address the situation that's caused directly by their members."

Cassidy acknowledged the problems span wider than English football, with the ill-tempered Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla marred by abuse of referee Anthony Taylor after the game.

Aside from refereeing issues, the ongoing racially motivated problems with Vinicius Junior and Spanish football continue – and Cassidy believes UEFA must improve.

"UEFA hasn't really got a good track record on what they've done with racism," he added. "So, they have been quite weak on that really and very erratic.

"Look at what has happened in Spain, they haven't really taken control of that. So, I'm not very hopeful that they'll respond to this in a manner that football wants it to respond to, but hopefully they prove us wrong.

"UEFA does, in particular with the UEFA foundation, some wonderful stuff. But when it comes to stuff like this, they don't seem to – look at what happened in the Champions League final last year, Liverpool-Real Madrid – they never really covered themselves in glory there.

"Let's take this opportunity, UEFA, let's make the game better. Let's come out hard and tough and let's send a message that this behaviour is totally unacceptable in our game."

Jose Mourinho should be suspended from coaching and Roma barred from European competitions following the "disgraceful" harassment of Anthony Taylor after Wednesday's Europa League final.

That is the view of Martin Cassidy, chief executive of Ref Support UK – a charity committed to supporting officials – after Taylor was abused following Roma's penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla.

Roma boss Mourinho was fiercely critical of Taylor's performance as Sevilla won a record-extending seventh Europa League title via spot-kicks following an ill-tempered 1-1 draw in Budapest.

Thirteen players were booked during the match, while Gonzalo Montiel scored his winning penalty at the second attempt after Rui Patricio was punished for encroachment after initially saving his kick.  

Mourinho was seen shouting expletives at Taylor after the game, and the English official was harassed by Giallorossi supporters when at Budapest Airport with his family.

Speaking to Stats Perform, Cassidy outlined the strong punishments he would like to see issued to coaches who abuse officials. 

"I'd be interested to speak to the legal people in UEFA and FIFA, to see if they could take their coaching badges away from them," Cassidy said.

"Take it away from them. Say, 'I'm sorry, we are going to suspend your badge, you can't coach at that level'. Let's see what that does.

"Obviously, big legal challenges will come that way. But let's have things in place to say, 'Look, a stadium ban is not working on you and one or two fines when you are a multimillionaire are not going to bother you'. 

"Let's really hurt you, let's take you away from being able to coach, let's suspend your coaching badge. Job done."

Cassidy believes Mourinho's behaviour is being replicated by grassroots coaches, and says his club should be barred from Europe or handed a points deduction for next season. 

"It's just disgraceful," he added. "How many chances does this man [Mourinho] want before some national governing body or UEFA or FIFA take appropriate action against him? 

"This behaviour he shows manifests itself at grassroots level when there's a youth referee in the middle, and little mini-Mourinhos are on the sidelines repeating and replicating those antics. 

"It's not good at all. And I just think, the managers – it's not just Jose Mourinho – other people do it and have been doing for a long time… they throw in a small fine, it might be £100 or £1,000. 

"That's a small fine for some of these people, for some of them it is not even a week's wages. They throw in a ban, well, Jose Mourinho has been banned before from stadiums and still found a way of doing his coaching.

"What are UEFA going to do? I think don't allow them to play in Europe next year. 

"If they do allow them to play in Europe, let's have them on a minus points deficit of say three or four points, let's just have a message that is different to what we've been doing previously."

Jose Mourinho has been charged by UEFA over criticism of referee Anthony Taylor in the wake of Roma’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla in Budapest on Wednesday.

Subsequent video footage of Taylor being accosted by angry fans at the airport has been condemned by the Premier League, which said it was “shocked and appalled” by the abuse suffered by the official.

Mourinho’s charge for using insulting/abusive language towards a match official is one of a number of charges levelled against both clubs after a stormy final that yielded 13 yellow cards.

Mourinho criticised Taylor in his post-match press conference, and in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”.

In the incident at the airport, clips on Twitter show a chair and drinks being thrown in the direction of Taylor and his group as they make their way through a gathering of Roma fans.

A Premier League spokesperson said: “We are shocked and appalled by the unacceptable abuse directed at Anthony Taylor and his family as they travelled back from the UEFA Europa League Final.

“No one should have to suffer the inexcusable behaviour they had to endure yesterday.

“Anthony is one of our most experienced and accomplished match officials and we fully support him and his family.”

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said in a statement on Thursday evening: “PGMOL is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.

“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final.

“We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family.”

Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.

The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.

UEFA has also charged both clubs with throwing of objects, lighting of fireworks, and the improper conduct of the team. In addition, Roma have been charged with crowd disturbances and acts of damage.

West Ham boss David Moyes condemned the treatment of Taylor as he prepares his side for Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague.

“I didn’t see the game so I can’t comment on the game itself or the officiating,” Moyes said.

“All referees have a really difficult job and shouldn’t be put through any difficult situations, which I heard about this morning. That’s not correct.”

The Premier League has joined refereeing body PGMOL in condemning abuse directed at Anthony Taylor after video footage emerged of him being accosted by angry fans at Budapest Airport.

Taylor and his family can be seen trying to evade a mob, who were shouting at him as he travelled home after refereeing Wednesday night’s Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla in the Hungarian capital.

A Premier League spokesperson said it was “shocked and appalled by the abuse suffered by Taylor, whilst PGMOL described the incident as “unjustified and abhorrent”.

The Premier League official was criticised for his performance in the final by Roma boss Jose Mourinho during his post-match press conference after the Italian side lost on penalties to Sevilla.

And in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”.

In the incident at the airport, clips on Twitter show a chair and drinks being thrown in the direction of Taylor and his group as they make their way through a gathering of Roma fans.

A Premier League spokesperson said: “We are shocked and appalled by the unacceptable abuse directed at Anthony Taylor and his family as they travelled back from the UEFA Europa League Final.

“No one should have to suffer the inexcusable behaviour they had to endure yesterday.

“Anthony is one of our most experienced and accomplished match officials and we fully support him and his family.”

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said in a statement on Thursday evening: “PGMOL is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.

“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final.

“We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family.”

UEFA is awaiting Taylor’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Mourinho for his rant.

Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.

Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs.

The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.

West Ham boss David Moyes condemned the treatment of Taylor as he prepares his side for Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague.

“I didn’t see the game so I can’t comment on the game itself or the officiating,” Moyes said.

“All referees have a really difficult job and shouldn’t be put through any difficult situations, which I heard about this morning. That’s not correct.”