Toffees issue lawsuit threat

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may soon find himself fighting battles on two fronts as, with his side now within two points of Barclays Premiership leaders Manchester United, Everton have threatened him with a lawsuit.

The Toffees are furious with Mourinho’s comments after the champions’ 3-2 victory at Goodison Park on Sunday in which implied striker Andrew Johnson dived after a challenge by Khalid Boulahrouz.

Mourinho branded Johnson “a dangerous kind of opponent” and claimed he was “not fair”.

“You cannot trust him,” he added. “A great player but too much of that.”

Everton have taken legal advice and asked for the Football Association to intervene.

A joint statement from the club and Johnson’s BaseSoccer representative Anthony McFarlane said: “In the wake of Sunday’s Premiership game against Chelsea at Goodison Park we wish to jointly condemn the post-match comments of Jose Mourinho relating to Andrew Johnson.

“To publicly question the integrity of a player of Andrew’s professionalism and honesty is not only wholly unacceptable and quite possibly defamatory but also, in our opinion, highly damaging for both club and player.

“We would urge the footballing authorities to look closely at Mr Mourinho’s comments and then, perhaps, seek a formal explanation.

“Both Everton Football Club and Andrew Johnson have always believed in the virtues of fair play and we would ask Mr Mourinho to immediately retract his allegations.”

Other managers have alluded to the ease in which Johnson has gone to ground in the past but none were as outspoken as Mourinho.

Johnson has now not scored for 13 matches as a season of debate over whether he dives or not has grown into the current crisis.

A Premier League spokesman said: “This is a matter for the FA and we would only get involved if it was a direct dispute between the clubs. Otherwise it is a disciplinary situation for the FA.”

An FA spokesman claimed they would not comment until they received an official complaint from Everton.