Jose Mourinho Apologises to Andy Johnson

During his two years in English football, sorry has usually been the hardest word for Jose Mourinho. Today, however, the Chelsea manager issued an unprecedented apology for insinuating that Andy Johnson was a diver following their 3-2 win against Everton on Sunday.

The news comes just 24 hours after Everton made an official complaint to the Football Association - and threatened legal action - claiming that Mourinho had attacked Johnson's "professionalism and integrity".

"First I would like to say I have the utmost respect for Everton football club, David Moyes and their players," said Mourinho. "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, [the referee] Mr [Mark] 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 had accused Johnson of being "a dangerous kind of opponent" after sparking an angry touchline argument with his reaction to Johnson's tumble over goalkeeper Hilario. The Chelsea 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."