Everton have urged Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to retract his comments about Andrew Johnson in the wake of Chelsea's 3-2 win at Goodison Park.
In his post-match interviews, Mourinho implied Johnson had dived to win a penalty although television replays suggested he had received a shove in the back from Chelsea defender Khalid Boulahrouz.
Everton issued a statement on behalf of the club and Johnson's BaseSoccer representative Anthony McFarlane, which read: "In the wake of Sunday's Premiership game against Chelsea at Goodison Park we wish to jointly condemn the post-match comments of Jose Mourinho relating to Andrew Johnson.
"To publicly question the integrity of a player of Andrew's professionalism and honesty is not only wholly unacceptable and quite possibly defamatory but also, in our opinion, highly damaging for both club and player.
"We would urge the footballing authorities to look closely at Mr Mourinho's comments and then, perhaps, seek a formal explanation. Both Everton Football Club and Andrew Johnson have always believed in the virtues of fair play and we would ask Mr Mourinho to immediately retract his allegations."
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