Jose
Mourinho has failed with an appeal against his suspended stadium ban and
£50,000 fine for comments made after Chelsea's match against Southampton.
Mourinho admitted a breach of FA rules - but appealed against the severity
of the sentence - after he was charged for misconduct with his comments
deemed to have "alleged and/or implied bias on the part of a match official
or match officials".
Following the 3-1 home defeat, Mourinho said: "I think you need to be a bit
honest and to make clear that the referees are afraid to give decisions for
Chelsea.
"I repeat, if the FA want to punish me, they can punish me, they don't
punish other managers, they punish me - it's not a problem for me.
"But I want to repeat because I think my players deserve it, I think our
fans deserve it and I am a Chelsea fan too. I want to say it again: referees
are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea."
His ban will be immediately invoked if he is found guilty of another breach
of the rules relating to comments made to or through the media.
The case was the latest in a growing list of off-field controversies that
have dogged Chelsea's poor start to the season which has seen them lose six
of their 11 Premier League games.
Mourinho already has another, separate, stadium ban - imposed after a
half-time altercation with referee Jon Moss that saw him sent to the stands
during a 2-1 defeat at West Ham last month.
He will serve that ban this weekend and will be unable to attend his side's
Saturday Night Football game against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
The Blues boss is also the subject of an individual legal claim from former
Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro - suggesting she holds Mourinho responsible
in part or in full for her departure from Stamford Bridge which came after
the pair clashed on the touchline during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Swansea on
the opening day of the season.
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