Rijkaard: Punish Mourinho, not Chelsea
MADRID: Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has called for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho to be punished for his behaviour during a Champions League match at the Nou Camp.
Rijkaard, however, does not want any action taken against the English Premier League club.
“What Mourinho did was very serious and it is right that he should be punished,” Rijkaard told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser yesterday.
“What he said was a pack of lies, very serious lies, and it is not the first time. He has done himself very few favours by all this.”
UEFA charged Chelsea with bringing the game into disrepute on Monday, specifically citing Mourinho, his assistant Steve Clarke and security man Les Miles.
The row erupted after Mourinho accused Rijkaard of speaking to referee Anders Frisk in his dressing room at half-time in their Champions League first leg match in Barcelona, implying the Dutchman was trying to exert an influence.
Chelsea, who were leading 1-0 at the time of the incident, went on to lose the leg 2-1 after striker Didier Drogba was sent off. Mourinho sent his team went out late for the second half and failed to attend the mandatory news conference.
The London club, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, went on to qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition 5-4 on aggregate after a 4-2 victory in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Frisk subsequently quit refereeing saying that he had received death threats from Chelsea fans.
UEFA issued a strong statement on Monday accusing Chelsea of making false declarations and “deliberately creating a poisoned and negative ambience”.
Rijkaard, who has strongly denied Mourinho’s accusations, said that the Portuguese manager’s remarks had had serious repercussions.
“He damaged Frisk, myself and Barcelona,” he said. “Frisk decided give up refereeing because of the threats and the fear they produced.
“He also undermined the image of Barcelona because there are some people out there who might have believed him and thought Barcelona could have been trying to bribe a referee or influence a game.”
Rijkaard said that although he was in favour of a punishment for UEFA, he did not want Chelsea to be thrown out of the Champions League.
“You have to differentiate between Mourinho and the events on the pitch,” he said. “Their players fought hard out there and I wouldn't like Chelsea to be punished in that way.”
The case will be put to UEFA’s disciplinary panel on March 31.
Mourinho was fined by the English FA last month for saying Manchester United players cheated and he was expelled from the dugout for making provocative gestures at Liverpool fans during Chelsea’s League Cup final win.
He and Chelsea are still under investigation for an alleged illegal move to poach Arsenal defender Ashley Cole. – Reuters
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