John Terry's Champions League nightmare may worsen if UEFA choose to study his clash with Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez in the final.
The Blues captain, who missed the penalty that could have won the trophy, has denied any wrongdoing and action over an alleged spitting incident appears to rest heavily on whether or not reference to it was included in reports from the referee and the UEFA delegate.
A UEFA spokesman confirmed they had received the referee's report but were still waiting for the delegate to supply his.
If the incident is not included in either report, then UEFA may resort to examining television footage of the alleged incident before deciding on what action, if any, to take.
"The delegate's report should be in later today (Friday). We have received the referee's report but I cannot tell you what was mentioned in it," said the spokesman.
"At the moment there is nothing further to add."
Meanwhile, speculation continues to surround the future of coach Avram Grant. The 52-year-old Israeli is expected to move back upstairs at Stamford Bridge after guiding the club to its first Champions League final and pushing Manchester United all the way in the Premier title race.
Grant's future is likely to be finalised in the next few days with Gus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard just two of the names being heavily linked as possible replacements.
Chelsea are already working on rebuilding their squad - which began with the £16.2million signing of Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa -
but chief executive Peter Kenyon insists there will not be major surgery and the intention is to keep the core of the side English and build around them.
"What this season has proved is that we have got a great squad in depth and that the club is capable of competing on all fronts," said Kenyon.
"I think it is more about tweaking that a complete rebuild. We have bought one player in Bosingwa so that was good to get that one done. We will take our time to look at what else is needed but it is two rather than 20.
"What you have got to look at is if one of top players goes, where do you get the replacement of that quality?
"We have the unenviable task, and this is where it is tough, that every player we bring in has to be better than what we've got.
"I think retaining our top players is a key component of the club. The strategy is clear: homegrown for obvious reasons, core being English - again we think that is a strength - and having players on long-term contracts so we are not going through constant change.
"We are pretty confident the players we want to keep we will. Most of the big players want to come to England so why would big players want to leave here?
"The training facilities are better than anywhere else in Europe and we've proved we can compete at that high level by reaching the final of the Champions League.
"We take great heart from that and the spirit we showed in the final. That proves we are close to achieving that next stage for the club and winning the Champions League.
"Losing the final will not change our direction. We will regroup and come back better next season."
Midfielder Frank Lampard wants to sit down and talk to the club about a new long-term deal after the England international friendlies at the end of the month.
Kenyon is ready to meet him after labelling him one of the best in the world.
"Frank is one of the top in the world in his position. At no time have we thought a replacement for Frank was on the cards," he added.
"That is certainly one of the ones where we would like to get rid of the speculation."
goke313 said
08:59 05/24 2008
till this day..i still don't undertand why Terry took the PK before Kalou
The Blues captain, who missed the penalty that could have won the trophy, has denied any wrongdoing and action over an alleged spitting incident appears to rest heavily on whether or not reference to it was included in reports from the referee and the UEFA delegate.
A UEFA spokesman confirmed they had received the referee's report but were still waiting for the delegate to supply his.
If the incident is not included in either report, then UEFA may resort to examining television footage of the alleged incident before deciding on what action, if any, to take.
"The delegate's report should be in later today (Friday). We have received the referee's report but I cannot tell you what was mentioned in it," said the spokesman.
"At the moment there is nothing further to add."
Meanwhile, speculation continues to surround the future of coach Avram Grant. The 52-year-old Israeli is expected to move back upstairs at Stamford Bridge after guiding the club to its first Champions League final and pushing Manchester United all the way in the Premier title race.
Grant's future is likely to be finalised in the next few days with Gus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard just two of the names being heavily linked as possible replacements.
Chelsea are already working on rebuilding their squad - which began with the £16.2million signing of Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa -
but chief executive Peter Kenyon insists there will not be major surgery and the intention is to keep the core of the side English and build around them.
"What this season has proved is that we have got a great squad in depth and that the club is capable of competing on all fronts," said Kenyon.
"I think it is more about tweaking that a complete rebuild. We have bought one player in Bosingwa so that was good to get that one done. We will take our time to look at what else is needed but it is two rather than 20.
"What you have got to look at is if one of top players goes, where do you get the replacement of that quality?
"We have the unenviable task, and this is where it is tough, that every player we bring in has to be better than what we've got.
"I think retaining our top players is a key component of the club. The strategy is clear: homegrown for obvious reasons, core being English - again we think that is a strength - and having players on long-term contracts so we are not going through constant change.
"We are pretty confident the players we want to keep we will. Most of the big players want to come to England so why would big players want to leave here?
"The training facilities are better than anywhere else in Europe and we've proved we can compete at that high level by reaching the final of the Champions League.
"We take great heart from that and the spirit we showed in the final. That proves we are close to achieving that next stage for the club and winning the Champions League.
"Losing the final will not change our direction. We will regroup and come back better next season."
Midfielder Frank Lampard wants to sit down and talk to the club about a new long-term deal after the England international friendlies at the end of the month.
Kenyon is ready to meet him after labelling him one of the best in the world.
"Frank is one of the top in the world in his position. At no time have we thought a replacement for Frank was on the cards," he added.
"That is certainly one of the ones where we would like to get rid of the speculation."