José Mourinho facing Premier League punishment after press blackout

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/31/jose-mourinho-manuel-pellegrini-chelsea-manchester-city

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The Premier League is likely to punish José Mourinho after he maintained his silence by failing to fulfil his media duties before or after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

It follows Mourinho cancelling his pre-match conference on Friday after he was fined £25,000 by the Football Association for alleging there is a “campaign” against Chelsea in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw with Southampton on 28 December. He was further enraged by Diego Costa’s three-match ban after retrospective action was taken for his stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can during Tuesday’s Capital One Cup semi-final.

Premier League rules state managers must speak to rights holders the day before the game and the league will seek an explanation from Chelsea.

Mourinho felt Costa was unfairly targeted by Sky and he refused to speak to the broadcaster before kick-off against City. There was also no representative from Chelsea for the post-match press conference. The Premier League is already investigating why Mourinho sent his deputy, Steve Holland, to carry out his press duties before last month’s game against Newcastle – Holland also spoke to the media after the final whistle – and this latest incident is likely to lead to a fine.

The draw kept Chelsea five points clear at the top of the league, although Manuel Pellegrini felt City were the better side. “I think that our team tried to win the game from the first minute until the end,” the City manager said. “It is not easy to come here to the leaders of the Premier League. We created clear chances. That is why I am not happy about the point but I am happy about the performance of the team. From the first minute, we came for the three points.”

Pellegrini reiterated his belief that City can still win the title. “It was important to try to close the gap,” he said. “We tried but we couldn’t. We have 45 points to win. It was not a final so we still have time to recover those five points.”

It was an emotional occasion for the former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard who made a late cameo against his old side. There were a few light-hearted boos when he came on, but he was afforded a fine ovation by the majority of the crowd. “The Chelsea fans showed complete class at the end,” Lampard said. “I enjoyed this.”