CHELSEA CLEARED OF RACE SLUR

Chelsea Football Club would like to thank the Football Association for their decision today (Friday) that there was no racist element involved in the incident between Patrice Evra and Sam Bethell, a member of the Chelsea ground staff.

Chelsea always strenuously denied the racist allegation and that position has been totally vindicated by the FA.

Alleging racism is one of the most serious accusations that can be made in football. Chelsea has a zero tolerance attitude towards racism and is fighting hard with the rest of football to rid all forms of discrimination from the game.

Clearly the incident itself was a regrettable one. We will be analysing the detail of the verdict before commenting further.

The FA issued the following statement after today's hearing:

A Regulatory Commission hearing today reached its verdict on charges issued as a result of an incident during a warm-down session following Chelsea's match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on 26 April.

The Regulatory Commission found a charge of improper conduct against Mr Evra proved on all four elements of the charge.

The Commission found that his conduct during a warm down session following the Chelsea v Manchester United, Premier League fixture on 26 April 2008, was improper in that:

a) Mr Evra pushed the Chelsea FC Head Groundsman with his chest (as was admitted by Mr Evra)

b) He struck Mr Sam Bethell, a Groundsman at Chelsea FC, on the side of his head

c) He subsequently, i.e. after the previous incident had begun to calm down, ran back to confront Mr Bethell again (as was also admitted by Mr Evra)

d) Then became involved in a further physical altercation with Mr Bethell.

The Commission considered this was an incident of violent behaviour by Mr Evra which was therefore punished by a suspension for four first team matches as from Monday 22 December 2008 and imposed a fine of £15,000 on Mr Evra.

The Regulatory Commission found two charges against Chelsea FC both proved. On the first charge the Commission found that during the course of the same incidents connected with the warm down by Manchester United FC players, Chelsea FC's employee, Mr Sam Bethell, had conducted himself in a disorderly fashion and that his conduct and language had been abusive and provocative.

Charges against Mr Bethell had previously been dismissed on the ground that The FA had no jurisdiction over him personally. Chelsea FC were charged that it had failed in its responsibility to ensure that its employee Mr Bethell conducted himself in an orderly fashion and refrained from abusive and provocative conduct and language. The Commission fined Chelsea FC £25,000 on this charge.

An allegation that Mr Bethell had engaged in racist conduct or language was not proved. Accordingly, so far as the charge against Chelsea FC was based on its alleged responsibility for such racist conduct and language by Mr Bethell, the charge against the club was not proved.

A second charge against Chelsea FC of failure to specify in Mr Bethell's contract of employment by the club that Mr Bethell was directly under the disciplinary control of The FA was upheld but the Commission did not find it appropriate to impose any penalty on that charge.

Mr Evra and Chelsea FC were each ordered to pay half the costs of the Regulatory Commission proceedings.

Article: ChelseaFc.com

We Should Won

Frustrating, that was the word which passed through Frank Lampard's lips after our 2-2 draw with Fulham yesterday.

The stand-in captain had pulled Chelsea back from a one-goal deficit but had to suffer dissapointment as the Blues gave two points away in the dying minutes of the game from Fulham's first corner.

'Without a doubt we should have won the game,' explained Lampard.

'We had a lot of chances in the game and when it was 2-1 we were fairly comfortable.

'They only had two chances from set pieces, so it was very frustrating for us to drop two points.'

Fulham came out in front of the home fans with intent, and from the kick off managed to put the Chelsea defence under pressure, but, despite two substitutions in the first half, as Florent Malouda and Alex limped off, the Blues more than a matched our west London neighbours.

Then the second half was a different story, with a blue tide flowing over Craven Cottage and Lampard netting two goals, one from a Didier Drogba-pressured Fulham mistake and the second from a perfectly placed freekick.

'Fulham has always been one of those teams that I score against, so I was pleased, but it doesn't matter too much now, I would rather have scored none and we won 1-0.'

Virtually the only two chances Fulham produced were the ones which found the net, both of which were set pieces.

The first saw Chelsea hesitant inside the six yard box and the second saw the Clint Dempsey head home from a corner for his second.

'We had chances. Their keeper has probably been the best keeper in the league up until now, he made some good saves, but we managed to get our nose in front and we felt comfortable in the game.

'Then we managed to get done on the set pieces and obviously there's frustration in the dressing room after the game.

'But it was a decent performance; we deserved to win the game.

'We conceded two goals from set pieces, which is a disappointment, but other than that we dominated the game, especially in the second half.'

Yesterday's point leaves us three behind Liverpool, whose 5-1 win over Newcastle extended their lead at the top, but Lampard knows the season is still young and the title race still on.

'It [the title race] is virtually the same as it was, it is still very tight, we have obviously lost a bit of ground now, but in terms of there being a long way to go, there are big games coming up.

'We still have Manchester United as our next game in the league, so it's still all to play for.

'It's frustrating to us because we have lost points, but they are never in the bag until the final whistle, so it makes it even more important in the next games.

'We dropped points against Fulham, so Manchester United have a chance to go above us if they win all of their games in hand, so it brings a lot of importance.'

article: ChelseaFc.com

Bridge Moved

Wayne Bridge has today completed his move to Manchester City, having agreed personal terms with the Eastlands club.

The club would like to thank Wayne for his services, and wish him luck in the future.

Bridge departs Chelsea a league championship winner, an FA Cup winner and a Carling Cup winner.

He also scored the Chelsea Goal of the Season in 2004 and it is with a little irony that the fans' most cherished memory of the defender's time with the club will always be that goal - a late winner at Highbury in the Champions League.

Bridge was one of a host of new signings the previous summer in the immediate aftermath of Roman Abramovich's purchase of Chelsea.

The player joined for £7 million on the same day as Damien Duff, the long-serving Graeme Le Saux going in the other direction to Southampton where Bridge had come through the ranks and progressed to become an England international.

Of the 11 new players who arrived in the summer of 2003 (of which only Joe Cole now remains), Bridge was the outstanding performer in the first season, the high point of which was the European quarter-final win over Arsenal, a long-awaited victory over our London rivals that heralded a change in football power in the capital.

His Highbury strike was one of three goals that campaign, more than he had managed in his entire five-season career at Southampton.

For his second Chelsea campaign, there was a change in management with José Mourinho replacing Claudio Ranieri but following a summer spent as an unused sub in England's Euro 2004 campaign, life under the new boss began with Bridge having to overcome niggling injuries that had previously escaped him. He was finding his best form just as the first serious injury of his career struck.

An ankle break suffered in a tackle by Alan Shearer at Newcastle in February 2005 came with rotten timing. Chelsea were well on our way to a first league title in 50 years.

However Bridge's 15 league appearances were still more than enough for a winners' medal and on recovery, he spent half-a-season on loan at neighbours Fulham where he rebuilt his form and fitness. Despite missing out on Chelsea's 2005/06 championship triumph, he won a place in England's 2006 World Cup squad, although again he didn't play.

The man who had won the national team's left-back place for that tournament joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day for the next season - but Bridge responded perfectly to the arrival of Ashley Cole by producing his best form since his debut season at Stamford Bridge.

Cole and he shared the 2006/07 season appearances more or less equally but the new signing's injury problems ensured Bridge started both the FA Cup and Carling Cup Final wins that year.

Last season was less balanced, Bridge undergoing a hip injury in the pre-season that kept him out until late September but the return was timely, with Cole on the treatment table a couple of weeks later.

Though Bridge was given the nod for the Carling Cup Final, it was Cole who was favoured by Avram Grant for most high-profile games.

The competition at both club and country level between England's top two left-backs continued into a third season, but Bridge started just eight games with three further sub appearances prior to his decision to move to Manchester City.

In total he played 124+18 games during his six Chelsea seasons, matches in which he was steady in defence and a bundle of energy going forward with his crossing a potent weapon. He scored four goals.

Article: ChelseaFc.com

TOO MANY CHANCES MISSED

Felipe Scolari was certain of one thing as he answered difficult questions from the press after today's game; we need to take our chances.

The Brazilian coach, who watched his side fail to build on chance after chance in our first FA Cup clash this season, was sure the Blues had played well but failed to build on both possession and power.

'It was not very good, but on the pitch, what can you say to my players, they have 15 chances to score a goal, and they don't score,' explained Scolari.

'I need to understand that if they had 15 chances, it is because they played very well, but in the last shot to score a goal they didn't score.'

Carlo Cudicini started today's match, but, after nearly 90 minutes of being untested, in the last minute of the game, Southend managed to scupper the Italian with an equaliser.

'Carlo didn't make a save. Our mistake is not scoring a second goal. This is our mistake, because we did not score,' reaffirmed Scolari.

'Now, after tomorrow, we have training, we have meetings, and we have to discuss the mistakes we made.

'We won all the balls [defensively], only one ball we didn't win, what can you say to the players, we win 99 and you lose one ball, this is football!

'This happens in football. I have these players, I believe in these players, and now we need to train.'

Southend manager Steve Tilson was obviously ecstatic with today's result as he explained his side's tactics.

'It is great for us, the only way we were going to get anything out of the game was to ride our luck and stay in the game as long as we can and go for it at the death,' said Tilson.

'There was a time when we could have been three or four down, but we kept in it.

'You need a bit of luck on the day, which we got. The players worked their socks off, but on another day we could have lost four or five nil.

'So this is a fantastic day for the football club, the crowd and everyone who has been involved today.

'At the end of the day we have had a good cup run, whatever happens now,' added Tilson.

As John Terry watched from the sidelines due to his suspension, fans around the stadium questioned whether losing such a pivotal man may be to blame for today's draw.

'John is captain and he is a very good player, but it is not because John Terry did not play today that we drew. We drew today because we made a mistake in the last minute.

'He is a good player, he is a captain, and he is a man who can sometimes change the game on the pitch, because he is a strong man, but it is not because John Terry was not here today that we drew.

'Next week I will have [Michael] Ballack, Deco and Terry back, so it is better for me.

'I know we have drawn many times at Stamford Bridge, but I also know we are better when we are away.

'I need to teach my players more concentration in the final minutes of the game.'

There's one thing Scolari is certain of as he looks ahead to the replay, Chelsea don't need another striker.

'When I arrived here, I saw one player which I said to buy, Deco.

'Now, with this team, we are in good condition, we are second in the league, we are in the Champions League, we may make many mistakes at Stamford bridge, but away we are very good.

'I am satisfied because I have good players and I have many strikers, maybe one time they don't score a goal, but I have good strikers.'

Article: ChelseaFc.com