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After the tense and turbulent match in Catalonia on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, in which FC Barcelona and Chelsea faced off, with the hosts securing victory with a 2-1 score, passions are still running high, and representatives of both clubs exchanged accusations.
Chelsea announced after the match that they will file a complaint with UEFA regarding an incident during halftime, and stated that the players and coaches will not participate in the press conference and will not comment further.
Immediately, reports appeared in the media alleging that there was a scuffle in the tunnel near the changing rooms between the Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho and the assistant coach of the opposing team, Henk Ten Cate, but Chelsea denied these speculations and now it is believed that the English club will complain about a conversation between "Barcelona" head coach Frank Rijkaard and the match referee Anders Frisk during halftime.
Rijkaard admitted that he did have a conversation with the referee after the first half, but the Dutchman believes that the reaction by Chelsea representatives is exaggerated because nothing special happened. Frisk, who later sent off the English team's forward Didier Drogba, could not have been influenced by that conversation.
"I was there - nothing happened. They are making something out of nothing. I said something very polite and unofficial to the referee, so Chelsea's reaction is a bit exaggerated," said Rijkaard. "It's not true that the referee came to our changing room, and I'm actually glad this rumor spread, as it seems even more absurd."
Meanwhile, Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez accused Chelsea of lacking ambition and stated that the English club did not play football and did not look like a great team.
"The only team that played football was us. When a team just waits for opponents or the referee to make a mistake, it's annoying. Everyone was talking about the amazing Chelsea before the game, but I saw nothing amazing," said Mexican Marquez.
Spanish newspapers supported the player's comments. "El Mundo Deportivo" writes: "It's very sad when a club that spent 300 million on new players plays so poorly." "Marca" agreed: "We must celebrate football triumph over a deeply incomprehensible and paranoid vision of the iron curtain game."
According to "Sport," Mourinho tried to provoke Barcelona and Frank Rijkaard with his statements and tactics before the match, but the latter did not take the bait and, with his usual calm and elegance, avoided confrontation with the Portuguese. Rijkaard said he wanted to talk about the game on the field, and that's exactly what he did.
