Nothing in Kalou gesture - Chelsea

Chelsea match-winner Salomon Kalou has denied celebrating his goals with a political ’handcuff’ gesture in support of an Ivory Coast activist.

Kalou’s double in the 58th and 80th minutes was enough to lift Chelsea into second place in the Barclays Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.

The Blues are now just two points behind leaders Manchester United and face third-placed Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Chelsea’s victory kept Boro entrenched in the relegation zone and piled more pressure on their beleaguered boss Gareth Southgate.

Kalou celebrated both goals by crossing his wrists but Chelsea and the player were quick to deny it had political origins.

The gesture was alleged to have been in support of Ivory Coast political activist Antoine Assale Tiemoko.

Tiemoko was released from a one-year prison sentence last month after being convicted of ’libelling the prosecutor’s office’ and being in ’contempt of court’.

Tiemoko, an occasional contributor to the daily Le Nouveau Reveil, was arrested in December 2007 after the newspaper had published his opinion piece on judicial corruption.

But a spokesperson for Chelsea declared: “Salomon says there was nothing in it. He was just trying out a new celebration and it was a crossing of the arms. He also sometimes puts his hand over his face like a mask.”

The speculation that it was a political gesture was heightened when Ivory Coast team-mate Didier Drogba also appeared to cross his wrists.

But there was no doubt over Kalou’s finishing in a game that was largely overshadowed by a touchline spat involving Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and Middlesbrough assistant Malcolm Crosby.

Kalou volleyed home the first goal when David Wheater’s attempted clearance of a Frank Lampard corner went straight to him.

His second 10 minutes from time was a neat header after Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull had missed another Lampard corner.

Meanwhile, Southgate accused Scolari of attempting to get Mohamed Shawky sent off when the Middlesbrough player, who had already been booked, was penalised for handball.

Scolari appeared to wave an imaginary card at referee Lee Probert and the gesture incensed Crosby.

The pair exchanged angry words after the incident and Southgate later revealed that Scolari had refused to shake hands at the end of the game.

“There were words between my assistant and Phil Scolari,” said Southgate. “He seemed to want to get one of my players booked. He didn’t shake hands at the end. A strange reaction, but that’s his prerogative.”

Southgate was generally pleased with his team’s performance but extremely disappointed with the manner in which they conceded their goals.

“It’s a big let-down to lose to two set-pieces given the quality we were up against,” admitted Southgate.

“That’s unforgivable because it comes down to people not doing their jobs at the end of the day.

“We’re not where we’d like to be. We’ve had a tough run. But I don’t think anyone in the country expected us to get anything at Chelsea.”

Chelsea assistant first-team coach Ray Wilkins played down Scolari’s outburst, adding that the referee or the fourth official would have intervened if there had been anything to sort out.

“It’s a very emotional game, isn’t it?,” said Wilkins. “Passions run high.

“They ran high on their bench. They did on ours. That’s the way the game is played. It’s played with great passion on the pitch and off it, whether it is with supporters or managers. I shook hands. It was a nothing conversation.

“I didn’t even see the incident, to be honest. If the referee felt he (Scolari) needed to be sent to the stands, he would have done that.

“But he didn’t do that. The referee obviously felt quite comfortable with the situation, and Steve Bennett (fourth official) obviously felt okay with the situation.”