Serie A has imposed a €10,000 fine on AS Roma for their deliberate delay tactics involving ball boys during Sunday's league match against Monza.

Under the management of Jose Mourinho, Roma clinched a thrilling 1-0 victory over Monza, with Stephan El Shaarawy netting the decisive goal in the 90th minute.

Italy's sports judge determined that Roma's ball boys intentionally slowed down the process of returning the ball after the home team had scored the winning goal.

A league statement read: "Roma, by way of objective responsibility, to have its own ball boys after the goal has been scored, systematically slowed down the regular restart of the game, forcing the referee to extend injury time by two minutes."

Mourinho also received a one-game touchline ban following his dismissal near the end of the match, during which he mocked Monza's bench by gesturing as if crying.

Due to the red card, Mourinho will not be able to be on the bench for Roma's upcoming league fixture, which will be an away game against his former club, Inter Milan.

It's worth noting that the Portuguese manager has previously expressed his strong opinions about the role of ball boys.

During his tenure at Tottenham Hotspur, Mourinho commended a club ball boy for swiftly delivering the ball, which led to a quick throw-in by Sèrge Aurier, ultimately sparking an equalising goal in a 4-2 Champions League victory over Olympiakos.

"I love intelligent ball boys, like I was," Mourinho said at the time. "I was a brilliant ball boy as a kid. This kid today was brilliant. He reads the game, understands the game and made an important assist."

Nevertheless, the former Manchester United manager expressed his discontent with the ball boys at Old Trafford for their sluggish response in returning the ball. In response, he decided to replace them with academy players.

Back in 2014, during his tenure at Chelsea, Mourinho also voiced his frustration with Newcastle United's ball boys, accusing them of time-wasting during his team's 2-1 defeat at St. James Park.