Jose Mourinho suggested he would have been given a stadium ban had he been the perpetrator, rather than the victim, of Arsene Wenger’s push.
The Chelsea boss was pushed firmly in the chest by the Arsenal manager during the 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge earlier this month.
The Football Association took no further action as the touchline fracas, which came after Gary Cahill’s foul on Alexis Sanchez, was witnessed and dealt with by the match officials.
Mourinho, who has a history of falling foul of disciplinary regulations, did not expect Wenger to be punished, but believes he would have been had the roles been reversed.
“No, I’m not surprised,” Mourinho said, ahead of today’s match against Crystal Palace. “I’m not surprised.”
Asked if he felt he would have been charged had he pushed a rival manager, a smiling Mourinho said: “Charged? Charged? Or stadium ban?”
It was the second successive home game in which Mourinho had irked rival coaching staff after Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert and his assistant Roy Keane expressed their annoyance when a handshake was offered by the Portuguese prior to the end of their side’s 3-0 loss.
Keane described the action as “disgraceful” and Lambert as “disrespectful”.
Mourinho added: “I don’t comment. I’d prefer not to comment. I don’t know if he (Keane) really feels it, or if he wants to sell books and needs my help for that. I don’t know.”
Chelsea have a number of fitness concerns with Diego Costa, Ramires (groin), Didier Drogba (ankle), Andre Schurrle (illness) and John Obi Mikel (undisclosed) all to be assessed prior to the match.
Costa’s fragile hamstrings have been the subject of much debate, with the Spain striker reporting to Chelsea’s Surrey training base on Monday morning despite having been told to take two days off.
Asked if he was reporting for treatment, Mourinho said: “No comments.”
