Referee points finger at Mourinho

SOCCER: Chelsea's on-pitch successes are at risk of being overshadowed by disciplinary problems after the referee Steve Bennett yesterday submitted his report on their League Cup final win, during which Jose Mourinho was sent off.

The club's situation worsened when Uefa requested an explanation for the manager's refusal to attend a mandatory press briefing after Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at Barcelona in the Champions League last week. Uefa also demanded to know why the team were late for the second half at Camp Nou.

In the League Cup final on Sunday a provocative gesture in the direction of Liverpool fans prompted officials to dismiss Mourinho from the dugout, and the English Football Association will decide today whether to launch a disciplinary process which could culminate in a touchline ban for the Chelsea manager.

Mourinho indicated that he was ordered away from the pitch on police orders, but the referee said in his report that he had authorised the fourth official, Phil Crossley, to banish the Portuguese for "unacceptable behaviour" in what was a "crowd-safety issue".

Police confirmed that Mourinho's removal had not been their decision.

Mourinho claimed that his silencing finger-to-lips gesture was aimed at the press box, though that was situated on the other side of the pitch. The referee, however, has reported his belief that it was an inflammatory act. "Safety issues can be brought into question and Mr Mourinho's removal was for unacceptable behaviour," Bennett said.

"I was alerted by the fourth official while my attention was drawn elsewhere. I was trying to prevent Chelsea players going into the crowd after the first goal. When (Crossley) buzzed, I couldn't be in two places at the same time."

Mourinho has apologised and the League Managers' Association vice-chairman Frank Clark yesterday leapt to his defence. "It didn't seem very provocative to me," he said. "We regularly talk to our members about their responsibility for behaviour in the technical area and we accept they must act in a sensible fashion. We are all conscious of crowd safety at matches, but this was mild."

Should the FA decide to charge Mourinho, it will be the seventh such indictment for Chelsea's club secretary David Barnard to contest. Mourinho has already called for a personal hearing, likely to be held this month, on charges concerning comments he made after the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, that Manchester United's players had committed "cheat and cheat and cheat".

In the light of Uefa's two questions about the club's conduct during the Barcelona game, moreover, Chelsea have deferred their own report to the European governing body about an alleged conversation between Barcelona's manager Frank Rijkaard and the referee Anders Frisk, which they claim took place in the referee's room at the interval.

Chelsea have denied an FA charge of failing to control their players during the 1-0 win at Blackburn on February 2nd. They also face a hearing tomorrow week about crowd trouble in the League Cup third-round win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.