Mourinho to fight FA punishment

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed he will appeal the FA punishment meted out to him for comments made after the 3-1 defeat to Southampton.

Mourinho was given a £50,000 fine and a suspended one-match stadium ban following criticism of referee Robert Madeley in his post-match interview on October 3.

The Portuguese coach accepted a misconduct charge from English football's governing body, but he does not agree with the resulting disciplinary action.

Speaking at his "Mourinho" book promotion at Waterstones Piccadilly on Thursday, he said: "Every word I say is a big risk for me. I am happy that I don't have an electronic tag. I think it's not far from [that].

"I also think that £50,000 in the world where we live today is an absolute disgrace. And I also think that the possibility of getting a stadium ban is also something absolutely astonishing."

Asked on Friday whether those remarks had stirred up further trouble, Mourinho said: "I have to be honest with myself, that's the most important thing."

When quizzed on the possibility of patching things up with the FA, he replied: "I think, in the moment, we have got the written reasons and I decided to appeal. So it's the moment to stop with my opinions and not say anything more than I did already. I was very objective in my sadness facing the situation."