Shevchenko denies criticism of Mourinho

Chelsea's Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko has denied giving an interview to a German website in which he appeared to criticise coach Jose Mourinho.

In a statement released by Chelsea, Shevchenko insists the interview was a complete fabrication.

Shevchenko declared: 'This is complete rubbish. I have never spoken to this German website or to the journalist who claims to have interviewed me.'

The club statement continued: 'The only official comments from Andriy appear on the Chelsea website, his own website or in interviews organised by the club, his sponsors or official pre or post-match press conferences.

'Andriy and Chelsea FC will now be considering what further action to take.'

German tv website sport.ARD.de. claimed that Shevchenko had spoken of the tensions within the club.

'It's true I have complained about Mourinho, but there are a lot of things which drove me to that,' Shevchenko was quoted as saying.

'A few months ago I suddenly became his dartboard because he was having a spat with the president at the time.'

Failing to find his form since his high-profile move from AC Milan, Shevchenko showed his hand by allegedly saying: 'I'm an employee of the club so I do what the president says.'

'The manager never spoke to me or played me in the position where my strengths lie. '
'It's also no secret that I was more on Mr Abramovich's wish list than the manager's. '
'In the transfer talks, Mr Mourinho seemed positive and happy at first.'

Talks of a rift at Stamford Bridge have been reported in the media for the past few weeks, and Shevchenko is reported to have hinted that it was the root cause of his troubles: 'A manager should be objective and not take it out on a player. For the first time in my career a manager said in public that I did not completely fit in with his plan.

'That's not exactly great motivation. If he thinks that why am I here?

'One on one with me he cleared the matter up and said his opinion had been twisted. But inside it still bothers me. '

'I don't like arguing but I don't forget things either. If the club boss asks me again what I think of the manager then I'll speak for me personally. '

'Mourinho is a very good manager, but I don't fit into his system. In any event I know it can't carry on like that. '

'Our relationship is professional. Nothing more nothing less. He is a tactical fox and has strict beliefs, but I've had better managers.'

Gerrard Too Much For Juve

Juventus coach Didier Deschamps has revealed his admiration for Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, but claims the England international is too pricey for the Bianconeri.

Should Juventus, as is highly likely, claim promotion back into Serie A, Deschamps will want to strengthen his squad to deal with the rigours of the top flight and Gerrard was thought to be an ideal candidate for the Turin club.

But the Frenchan ruled out a possible move for the dynamic midfielder: "Gerrard is a really good player, but he costs too much for us," he said.

Deschamps also underlined his faith in World Cup winning goalkeeper Gigi Buffon, who has been linked with a move away from Turin ever since the start of the season.

"Buffon? I wouldn't swap him, not even for Steven Gerrard," he added.

Meanwhile Deschamps has claimed the rumours surrounding his future do not bother him. Former Italy coach Marcelo Lippi's has been mentioned in the same breath as the Bianconeri job, but the former Juventus player insists his job is safe.

Deschamps took over the reigns in Turin after Fabio Capello moved to Real Madrid in the wake of the club's relegation to Serie B last summer and has steered the Old Lady back to the brink of the top flight, where he expects to be come next season.

"Speculation about Lippi doesn't worry me," the Frenchman said. "I'm looking to be Juve coach in Serie A and I've never had any signals otherwise."

Juve are currently two points clear at the top of the table and odds-on to bounce straight back into Serie A after the Calciopoli sanctions hit the club hard.

Further Ban For Adebayor

Fellow striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been given an additional one-match ban and fined £7,500 after being found guilty of “reacting aggressively and failing to leave the field of play immediately” in the Carling Cup final.

Adebayor was sent off for his part in the fracas which marred Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium and was given a three-match ban.

He requested a personal hearing to contest the charge but was found guilty by the Football Association and had his ban extended to include the Barclays Premiership trip to Everton on Sunday March 18.

A statement from the FA read: “In sentencing, the commission stated that it had taken into account Adebayor's playing record and the mitigation offered.

“Adebayor is currently serving a three-match suspension following his sending-off during the match.

“This additional suspension will come into effect after those three games have been completed.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal have admitted a charge, also relating to the cup final, of failing to control their players and/or officials.

Chelsea admitted the same charge on March 2 and both clubs have requested personal hearings which have yet to be scheduled.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has also responded to an FA request to explain comments made about one of the assistant referees in the Carling Cup final and about the FA's disciplinary procedures.

Wenger's response will now be considered by the FA.

Lille End Protest Against Giggs

Lille have ended their protest against Ryan Giggs' winning goal for Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League tie. The French side lodged an appeal after they lost 1-0, thanks to a quickly-taken Giggs free-kick in Lens on February 20.

Lille claimed the referee had made a technical error in not blowing his whistle before the winger converted the set-piece.

But UEFA's control and disciplinary body vetoed the claim and that decision was last week ratified by the European governing body's appeals department.

The third placed Ligue 1 side were considering this week whether to take their protest to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, but have now decided not to take the appeal any further.

A statement on the club's official website www.losc.fr read: "In order not to sink into relentless legal proceedings with no end in sight, LOSC have taken the decision not to pursue its appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

There was nothing controversial about the second leg, as Manchester United won 1-0 and consequently knocked Lille out of the Champions League 2-0 on aggregrate.

Henry Out For The Season

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has been ruled out for the remainder of the Barclays Premiership season.

The France striker damaged groin and stomach muscles in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven and will now miss the next three months of domestic and international football.

The Gunners hope to have their talismanic captain back to full fitness for the start of the 2007/08 campaign.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told official club website http://www.premierleague.com/forwardto.jsp?link=http://www.arsenal.com/: “Thierry Henry will be out for a minimum of three months.

“Unfortunately this means he will now miss the rest of this season both domestically and internationally, but we are confident that he will be ready for the start of next season.”

Italian Football: What a joke!

UEFA is becoming a laughing stock with its treatment of Italian football. Violence has been commonplace on the terraces of Italy for years, yet UEFA has done nothing about it. We all know that if English clubs had the same problems they would be banned again.

Then there was the Calciopoli scandal during the summer and the pathetic way the Italian FA backed down and cut the punishments meted out to the guilty parties. The original punishments were barely enough for the crimes committed, let alone the token punishments finally given. And now we have yet more fan violence, except this time it’s not English fans on the receiving end but the Italian police.

Years of the police standing by and watching while the Ultras cause trouble has turned round and bitten them back with a vengeance. The Ultras now believe they are above the law. Maybe they are right – after all the Italian FA certainly has no intention of standing up to them.

As per usual they buckle under the first sign of pressure. They shut down all football, stating that it will not be back until they have found a solution to the problems. A week later it is back, with no solution in sight, but only at certain stadiums, the ones that pass stringent new safety standards. This despite the fact the trouble did not occur in stadiums anyway so improving the stadiums is not the answer.

A day later the San Siro, despite being nowhere near meeting the new safety standards, is allowed to open its doors to 37,000 season ticket holders, among them the Ultras that are supposedly the root cause of the trouble.

They will never sort out their problems while the Italian FA continues to be so weak. If the FA is incapable of sorting out its problems then it is about time that UEFA stepped in and did something. A ban from European competition could well scare Italy into doing something to fix their problems.

Alex to return to Chelsea from PSV

PSV Eindhoven defender Alex has admitted he would relish a move to Chelsea. The Brazilian, who scored the goal that dumped Arsenal out of the UEFA Champions League, has been with PSV for the last two-and-a-half years.Well not return as he's never played for them but is owned by them and loaned back immediately to wait for work permit nonsense to be sorted, and whilst that's still up in the air his performance against Arsenal has persuaded the suits to have another go. Jose will stay this summer no matter what. All that prattling with the board is the same gas as the Special One announcement- getting the attention off his players and onto him. Chelsea are monitoring some of Europes top right backs to try and finish the hoodoo over that position with Rafinha and Daniel Alves strong possibilities, although there may be a bid for Richards it would be for the same reasons as buying sweepers.

Man Utd Transfer Rumours

With 20 mil left from this year, the additional 25 mil that kicks in this summer, as well as the 25 mil set aside for a "global marketing" player, Utd go into the transfer window looking for a world class player or two to help build the team around with Rooney, Ronaldo, Vidic, etc. Additionally, they will fund the purchase of a few squad players with potential to develop and some youth prospects to invigorate their reserves. Kaka will move this summer, and although early signs point to Real Madrid, Kaka has recently stated that he would prefer a move to the premiership. He is Fergie's top choice, but it is unclear if it could be negotiated. Eto'o is a similar case, a world class player who is growing bored at his current club. Hargreaves is a lock, but perhaps for as little as 15mil after the long season of injuries. Expect Bale, Nani, Torres, Van der vaart, Robben, Richards and others to get serious consideration. Fergie has been cautious with his funds recently, being unwilling to overpay for talent, but this summer he has the war chest to go after players whose price tags, while enormous, may indeed be worthwhile.