Mourinho Fallout Continues...

The memorable football from the Barcelona/Chelsea Champions League encounter vanishes completeyl fomr the public eye, hidden benath the fog of accusation and counter-claim by Jose Mourinho and UEFA.

In a barbed personal attack, Volker Roth, UEFA Referee Chairman, branded Mourinho an "enemy of football," in reference to the Chelsea manager's attacks on referee Anders Frisk's actions during the first-leg at the Nou Camp.

Frankly, it's a much more defensible accusation to accuse Mourinho's tactics, system of play, and encouragement of diving, barging, and fouling among the Chelsea players as being detrimental to football, but one wouldn't expect differently from a referee chairman.

Another, bigger UEFA pooh-bah weighed in with a typically bureaucratic, watered-down follow-up statement, which made clear reference to intimidation of match officials, without mentioning anyone by name.

Well, that's an effective deterrent...

Of course, "the Special One," constitutionally incapable of leaving well enough alone, has threatened legal action against Roth for his "enemy of football" attack.

International football is in very real danger of going the way of professional wrestling if this sort of silliness is continually played out in the media before and after matches. The impetus to prevent this sort of behaviour exists, but one questions whether UEFA or FIFA, let alone the FA, has the will to proffer an effective deterrent. The solution is a simple one: no more shilly-shallying around with media campaigns, if a manager makes comments such as those made by Mourinho after Chelsea's first-leg loss, the unproven accusations of cheating, remove the team from the competition, and award the other side the place in the next round.

The problem would vanish overnight, rest assured...