Chelsea protests likely to fall on deaf ears
Chelsea’s complaint to UEFA over the conduct of Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard and referee Anders Frisk during their Champions League tie in the Nou Camp stadium will now centre around the vexed question of whether the Dutchman entered the official’s dressing room at half-time.
But it is unlikely that UEFA will impose any punishment on either party as there appear to be no strict guidelines that prevent managers from talking to referees before, during or after games, despite Mourinho’s insistence to the contrary.
The Barca coach is understood to have been spotted leaving the room used by the Swedish official and, while UEFA will take a dim view of Rijkaard’s actions, it is extremely doubtful that they will punish him.
Chelsea confirmed today that they were in the process of making a strong protest to UEFA about Rijkaard’s conversation with Frisk, although they have yet to accuse the Barca coach of entering his dressing room.
The Swedish referee is not expected to include any of the alleged incidents in his report to UEFA – making Chelsea’s case look wafer thin.
However, the Barclays Premiership leaders did move quickly today to scotch stories of an alleged tunnel fracas in which Mourinho was understood to have been kicked up the backside by Barcelona’s assistant coach Henk Ten Cate.
Chelsea denied such an incident took place saying in a statement: “Following the Barcelona match last night, it is being reported through various media outlets that an incident occurred between Jose Mourinho and a member of the Barcelona coaching staff.
“This incident did not happen and Chelsea can therefore confirm that this will not form part of our report to UEFA which is currently being prepared.”
UEFA have already claimed that their own tunnel representative witnessed nothing out of the ordinary during the half-time break and it is the Londoners who are likely to be on the receiving end of any punishment after failing to turn-up for the compulsory press conference after their 2-1 defeat.
Meanwhile, Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez increased the ill-feeling between the two clubs today by claiming that the Londoners were bad losers.
Marquez spoke out after Chelsea crept silently away from the Nou Camp stadium following their defeat and, although Rijkaard admitted he spoke to Frisk during the interval, Marquez claimed Chelsea were trying to deflect attention away from the fact they had been beaten by a better side.
Marquez declared: “This is just an excuse. Everybody could see who was the better team out on the pitch. Chelsea are just angry because of the defeat. The only team that played football was us. When a team just waits for their opponents or the referee to make a mistake, then it makes you angry.
“Everyone had talked about super Chelsea before the game but I didn’t see anything super out there.”
His comments were echoed by Barca goal hero Maxi Lopez. The substitute turned the game by scoring the equaliser and laying on the winner for Samuel Eto’o 17 minutes from time.
Lopez said: “We have shown that we play more football and have more creativity than Chelsea.
“We now have to do the same at Stamford Bridge and cope with the pressure at their ground. It will be a very difficult match but we must try to play our own game.”
Lopez was delighted with the faith shown in him by Rijkaard since he joined the Catalan giants from River Plate in January. He said: “I am very happy to have marked my debut with a goal and the most important thing is that I have contributed to the team winning.”
