Jose cleared of blame over Frisk

Jose Mourinho was today cleared by UEFA following suggestions that he was responsible for the retirement of referee Anders Frisk.

Chelsea's head coach has been heavily criticised for whipping up the climate of hate that caused Frisk to quit the game but UEFA have confirmed he has no case to answer.

Mourinho's behaviour is still under the spotlight and his various alleged misdemeanours in Barcelona will be considered by UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body next Thursday, but he is not being blamed for Frisk's retirement.

UEFA director of communications William Gaillard said: "UEFA have never said that Mourinho caused Frisk to resign. This is a big logical jump. All we're saying is that some statements from managers and players are misconstrued by the public at large who are not mentally stable.

"It was never Mourinho's intention to whip up feeling against Frisk, but we would ask all managers to be careful and refrain from making these statements. No one at UEFA has linked Mourinho's comments with the resignation of Anders Frisk. This is not on the agenda for our next Executive Committee meeting, but I'm sure there will be a general discussion on how we can protect referees."

Gaillard's statement is a sign of UEFA's desire to improve relations with Chelsea after a difficult few weeks. European football's governing body yesterday distanced themselves from their controversial head of refereeing Volker Roth, who has branded Mourinho an "enemy of football", and want to clear the air at tomorrow's Champions League quarter-final draw in Nyon.