Mourinho hits back at UEFA
(eurosport.com)
Updated: 2005-03-08 16:50

Jose Mourinho hit out at UEFA again on Monday after the ruling body said it was unhappy with the Chelsea boss for suggesting Pierluigi Collina should referee Tuesday's Champions League game against Barcelona.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reacts to a question during a press conference at Stamford Bridge in west London on the eve of the second leg Champions League match against Barcelona. [AFP]

William Gaillard, UEFA's director of communications, told Sky Sports on Monday it was not Mourinho's job to suggest match officials, adding that the Portuguese coach was being unsporting.

Speaking at a news conference later on Monday, Mourinho described what Gaillard had said as "completely untrue", a comment that could land him in further trouble with European soccer chiefs.

The spat began after Chelsea's stormy 2-1 defeat in Barcelona two weeks ago when Mourinho was unhappy with the performance of Swedish referee Anders Frisk. "Something tells me the referee in London will be Collina," Mourinho told a Portuguese newspaper, describing the Italian official as "perfect" for the match.

The appointment of widely respected Italian Collina for the first knockout round second leg at Stamford Bridge was announced by UEFA on Sunday.

On Monday Gaillard made it clear the remarks had not gone down well at UEFA headquarters. "We didn't really appreciate Jose Mourinho saying we had assured Chelsea that Collina would be refereeing the game," Gaillard said. "It is not true at all.

"He was trying there to put some undue pressure on us."

Very Difficult 

Mourinho snubbed the post-match news conference at the Nou Camp, which has also landed him in trouble with UEFA, after incidents in the tunnel at halftime. "We had decided to appoint Pierluigi Collina even before we considered the incidents but it made it very difficult for us to do so," Gaillard said.

"People were arguing that if we did, it sounded like we're bowing to pressure from Mourinho and that if we didn't, then again we're being influenced in appointing someone else when we wanted to appoint Collina.

"Frankly, we don't like coaches or anyone from a team telling us which referee we should appoint. This is not within the Fair Play spirit that we want in the game. It is not pleasant and it is not his job."

When asked about Gaillard's comments, Mourinho said: "I heard this morning what the gentleman said and it's completely untrue."

Gaillard also said Chelsea have yet to respond to UEFA after the ruling body began disciplinary proceedings against the club last week on two counts after the game in Catalonia.

"We're still waiting for Chelsea to explain why they didn't come to the press conference at the end of the game and why they were late at halftime (for the second half)," Gaillard said.

"These are minor, administrative violations of the competition's rules, but still we would like to clear that up...and we hope the second leg is played in a better atmosphere altogether. No-one is exempt from the rules."

Chelsea have until March 14 to make their response. The case will be considered by UEFA's Control and Disciplinary body on March 24.

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