Chelsea hope for leniency

Chelsea can be confident of escaping a fine anywhere near the upper limit of £250,000 (€383,900) that technically pertains for the Football Association charge they face over the behaviour of their players during their victory at West Brom.

The FA charge relates to an incident which saw Chelsea players surround referee Mark Halsey after a foul by Albion’s Ronnie Wallwork on Claude Makelele in Saturday’s Barclays Premiership fixture.