Chelsea in 'race insult' storm

Chelsea are at the centre of a bitter race row following their Champions League triumph. The club's astonishing victory was marred by ugly scenes at Stamford Bridge after Barcelona player Samuel Eto'o claimed he was called a monkey by a Chelsea steward.

He said: "Someone from the Chelsea bench called me a 'monkey of shit'. They called me a monkey. But you should look at the face of the coach. This is the mentality of the club. If Chelsea win the European Cup it would be laughable."

The flare-up followed a war of words before the match between Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard.

Barcelona defender Carles Puyol said last night: "There were a few problems. The other players told me that the security guards had insulted Eto'o and called him a monkey and that's when the problems started."

Rijkaard and star striker Ronaldinho were also involved in a struggle with stewards as they left the pitch. Witnesses say Chelsea's scout Andre Villas provoked Rijkaard. TV pictures showed Rijkaard and Ronaldinho grappling with stewards. Many reports describe the Chelsea stewards behaving provocatively and in a heavy-handed manner. At one stage Ronaldinho was heard shouting at them: "You're all racists."

Villas appeared to spark the brawl after blowing kisses at Rijkaard, who had to be held back by several stewards. This appeared to prompt a mass skirmish.