FA welcomes Mourinho apology

Jose Mourinho’s apology to Everton striker Andrew Johnson has been welcomed by the Football Association.

Everton claimed yesterday they would be submitting a complaint to the FA after Mourinho accused the England forward of diving following Chelsea’s 3-2 win over the Merseysiders at Goodison Park on Sunday.

But Mourinho’s decision to issue an apology to the club, Everton manager David Moyes and Johnson has pleased the footballing authorities.

A spokesman for the FA said: “We are pleased this issue has been sensibly resolved.

“It is important to remind everybody in football of the need to respect opponents and other people in the game for the good image of the sport.”

Mourinho’s climbdown will, no doubt, delight his critics. The Chelsea manager’s tenure has been littered with outspoken comments concerning opposing managers, clubs, officials and players.

But on this occasion he has taken the heat out of the situation by apologising.

Mourinho had implied Johnson had dived in a bid to win a penalty but TV replays suggested he was shoved in the back by Blues defender Khalid Boulahrouz and the Chelsea boss now agrees.

Mourinho said: “First I would like to say I have the utmost respect for Everton Football Club, David Moyes and their players.

“That’s why I love to play them, and especially at Goodison Park, where the atmosphere is magnificent.

“Secondly, after the match I was clear and said Andy Johnson is a great player and I never used aggressive words, like some managers did against my players in previous seasons, or like some others recently said about him and Ronaldo. I never used the word cheat.

“After seeing it again on the video, Mr Halsey did wonderful work and both decisions for penalties were correct.

“Did Andy Johnson try to avoid a collision with my goalkeeper? It seems now the answer to that is yes, so Everton, his manager and he deserve my apologies.”

Mourinho’s apology was prompted by Everton’s refusal to back down from their threat to report the Chelsea boss to the FA.

The Toffees also made it clear they had taken legal advice over comments that they claimed were “wholly unacceptable, possibly defamatory and highly damaging for both club and player”.

Mourinho had branded Johnson “a dangerous kind of opponent” after sparking an angry touchline argument with his reaction to the forward’s tumble over goalkeeper Hilario.

The Blues boss waved an imaginary yellow card in the air and then laid into Johnson after the game, claiming the player had been “embarrassed” by his conduct.

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

It is not the first time the England striker has been singled out for criticism this season but Everton felt Mourinho’s comments went a step too far.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had also publicly expressed his concern over Johnson but the Merseysiders did not call for the Frenchman to withdraw his remarks.

Everton insist the issue is now closed.

Chief executive Keith Wyness said: “Common sense has prevailed and this is an end to the matter.

"The relationship between ourselves and Chelsea has always been admirable and that, I feel certain, will continue.”