Chelsea told serious lies: Rijkaard

But Mourinho said today he would not change his style of management, claiming that he is victimised. He said: "I have always been this way. Sincerely, I don't want to change and I want to finish up my career 12, 13 years from now at most, I want to finish it up this way.

"That is, to be loved by my own. And right now I am loved by the Chelsea fans and I don't worry hardly at all about other club's supporters. That's the way I am.

"I'm spontaneous. When I say something it is not in order to provoke. Strangely enough, the same gesture that I had for the British press versus Liverpool a few days ago, I saw [Inter Milan striker] Adriano do the same, presumably criticising because his team is not scoring.

"This gesture happens often, but everything that I do is seen and analysed in a negative way."

Chelsea will demand that Mourinho gets a personal hearing tomorrow week. Under UEFA rules disciplinary matters are usually dealt with via paper submissions, though in exceptional circumstances they will allow those charged to present oral evidence.

The club may also enlist the support of the Premier League, who are understood to be unhappy at the strength of UEFA's language and the serious allegations levelled at one of their leading clubs.

Chelsea also have doubts over the independence of the panel that will hear their case. Six of the nine members of the disciplinary and control body are or have been UEFA match delegates. In addition, the chairman of the body is a Spaniard with strong links to Barcelona, Josep Luis Vilaseca, but UEFA insist they are completely neutral.

Meanwhile, Eidur Gudjohnsen has withdraw from the Iceland squad to play Croatia and Italy because of a slight hamstring strain.