Chelsea to face two Uefa charges

Uefa have confirmed Chelsea are facing a double disciplinary charge following their controversial Champions League clash against Barcelona in the Nou Camp last week.

Chelsea are in the process of making a formal report to the European governing body about Barca coach Frank Rijkaard's half-time discussion with Swedish referee Anders Frisk, but in the meantime Uefa have begun disciplinary proceedings against the English Premiership leaders on two fronts.

Uefa were unhappy with the team's late arrival on to the pitch for the second half of the game and with manager Jose Mourinho's decision not to attend the compulsory post-match press conference.

A Uefa spokesman confirmed: "We have started a disciplinary case against Chelsea for the late arrival on to the pitch from the dressingroom for the second half and the non-appearance of the coach at the post-match media conference.

"We have notified the club that the matter will be dealt with on March 24th and they can submit a statement to us."

Uefa will make use of all the available evidence before deciding whether to punish the League Cup winners, who lost 2-1 in the first leg. This will include Frisk's report of the game, video evidence, Uefa's delegate report as well as any statements provided by the club or their players.

The disciplinary action is a further blow to Chelsea's already-tarnished reputation off the pitch.

The club have denied an English FA charge of failing to control their fans when violence erupted during their League Cup tie with West Ham earlier this season. They have also rejected a further FA charge of failing to control their players during a Premiership game against Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Mourinho is also facing an FA misconduct charge after labelling Manchester United's players as "cheats" on Chelsea's TV channel just days after their League Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge.

The club continues to be under investigation by the Premier League for its alleged "tapping-up" scandal involving Arsenal and England left-back Ashley Cole at a London hotel.

Now they are facing a double charge from Uefa where the likely punishment for being found guilty in both cases is a hefty fine.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Arjen Robben has received treatment from AC Milan's club doctor following the personal intervention of Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich.

The Russian asked Milan vice-chairman Adriano Galliano for the help of theie medical co-ordinator, Dr Jean-Pierre Meersseman, in an attempt to boost the Dutchman's fitness. Meersseman is understood to have made several muscle corrections in Robben's broken left foot and went on to reveal the extraordinarily hands-on approach that Abramovich takes at Chelsea.

Meersseman said: "Abramovich asked Galliani if I could treat Robben and I suppose he said 'yes' because I came to London.

"They are very good friends and Galliani was happy to help. There has been a great relationship between Chelsea and AC Milan for the last couple of years and we were happy to help. Abramovich knows Galliani well and the Russians are on good terms with our prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi."

Robben has given himself only a 10 per cent chance of being fit in time for the return leg of their Champions League tie with Barcelona next week.

However, Chelsea were given a a further boost ahead of that crucial game when Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly was ruled out through injury.

Meanwhile, Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has labelled Mourinho "arrogant" after the Chelsea coach's gesture at last Sunday's League Cup final against Liverpool.

"I saw the Carling Cup final and he acted arrogantly," Almunia told Catalan newspaper El Mundo Deportivo. "It is clear that Mourinho believes he is superior to the rest and that his success has gone to his head."

While Almunia was ready to condemn one coach, he was prepared to stand by another after lending his support to Spain manager Luis Aragones.

On Tuesday Aragones was fined €3,000 by the Spanish FA for racist comments he made about Thierry Henry to Jose Antonio Reyes in a training session.

Almunia believes that what Aragones said has been lost in translation and was not racist.

"This has all gone too far and on top of everything we all know Luis Aragones," said Almunia. "He is a strong personality that only tries to motivate his players, but a racist? Never."