F.A. Hit Back At Moaninho

The Football Association today blasted Jose Mourinho over his claims about Chelsea’s treatment and Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein.

Chelsea boss Mourinho claimed the Gunners have been given an easier ride with the Premiership fixture list and insinuated that the presence of Dein on the FA’s board had implications for the Blues.

The FA today branded Mourinho’s comments “unnecessary, unhelpful, bad for the image of the game and inaccurate“.

In a statement on www.thefa.com, the FA said: “The FA is extremely disappointed with the comments made by Jose Mourinho to the media yesterday.

“At a time when the football authorities are collectively striving to improve behaviour at all levels of the game, some of those views expressed by Mourinho are unnecessary, unhelpful, bad for the image of the game and inaccurate.”

In May, Mourinho was fined £200,000 by the Premier League over the Ashley Cole tapping-up saga – Chelsea were also fined £300,000 – after a complaint by Arsenal but he insists his club get a raw deal.

However, the FA statement goes on to point out that Dein has no influence on the FA’s disciplinary bodies.

It said: “The Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein is one of four members of the FA board representing the FA Premier League. The four Premier League representatives are elected by the 20 member Premier League clubs (including Chelsea) to represent their views within the FA.

“We would like to state categorically that Mr Dein does not have any involvement within the FA’s disciplinary or compliance functions. It should also be made clear that he is not a member of the FA’s disciplinary committee.

“Therefore, Mr Dein does not have any input into any decisions to charge individuals or clubs with breaches of FA rules, nor in any judgement or punishment administered by a disciplinary commission.”

Mourinho could yet find himself in disciplinary trouble again before a ball has even been kicked in the new season as the FA are scrutinising the remarks to see whether they warrant any action.

The statement added: “If any club or official has any comment or complaint to make about the role of any individual within the game, there are channels available to do this through clubs to the football authorities – not by individuals in a press conference.

“The FA is currently studying the comments made by Mr Mourinho.”