Mourinho denies insult

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has denied he intended to offend referee Mike Riley during his side's thrilling FA Cup quarter-final with Tottenham.

Mourinho insisted there had been no confrontation with Riley in the tunnel at half-time of the 3-3 draw when he allegedly used the Portuguese word 'puta' - which translates as bitch. Mourinho was unhappy with Riley's display but he may now face action from the FA even though the Chelsea boss played down his use of the word.

Mourinho said: "If you listen to me speaking, I say the kind of word you mention 10 times in every 15 words. If you have a microphone on the dugout I say that during the game 20 times easy. The word can be abusive if you understand it as an abusive word."

He added: "I tell the word to my players and myself when I am not happy. It is something I say when the ball hits the post.

"I say it 50 times in a game, 50 times in training and I don't want to be offensive. I can be emotional but I am polite.

"I never want to be offensive with somebody. It is the same word I use to criticise the ball when it goes out."