Mutu: An awful insult

Adrian Mutu today described being spat at by Sinisa Mihajlovic as "an awful insult".

The incident is set to overshadow Chelsea's sensational 4-0 victory over Lazio here last night. However, UEFA have acted quickly and will look into the incident at a disciplinary investigation on Friday.

Talking exclusively to Standard Sport, the Romanian revealed the spitting, clearly seen on television, occurred after the Chelsea star cracked a joke at the Lazio player's expense - although it also looked to be provoked by an elbow from Mutu.

Mihajlovic was later sent off after receiving his second yellow card but Mutu said: "Mihajlovic was trying to play mind games and lost those as well. He should concentrate on football as he needs to improve.

"It was an awful insult but I didn't react. It was humiliating to be spat at but I put the good of the team before my personal vendetta.

"It was not good and he has a poor sense of humour. He didn't get the joke! Some exchanges were made and he couldn't take it so he got violent. It was unprovoked and he started it. It had the opposite effect as he got sent off. He lost his mind and didn't play well. He made a lot of mistakes.

"Lazio tried to be aggressive but it didn't work. It was a fantastic result and a night to remember. Our performance was too powerful for them. Everything is coming together and we're improving every game. We have to keep working before the Newcastle game on Sunday as we cannot afford to slip up."

Mihajlovic, who was given a two-game ban for racially abusing and spitting at Arsenal's Patrick Vieira three years ago, then threw a water bottle at the Chelsea bench after being sent off before being removed by a UEFA official.