Truth & Rumors: April 6, 2005

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been offered a three-year contract extension which will up his pay by �1m a year, according to his agent. Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes insists a �5.2m-a-year, three-year extension to his current deal is now on the table after club owner Roman Abramovich flew to London to work on the contract. If agreed, this deal would make him far and away the best paid manager in England. -- The Guardian ( UK

Victory for Mourinho follows a series of meetings �-- involving Mendes, Abramovich and chief executive Peter Kenyon �-- which took place as Mourinho's most trusted assistant, Baltemar Brito, went public with the manager's anger, confirming that he felt he had been let down by Chelsea, not least over the failure to appeal the two-match ban imposed last week by UEFA. -- The Independent (UK)

Mourinho's Champions League ban was exposed as a farce last night. Mourinho is barred from the touchline for tonight's quarter-final against Bayern Munich. Chelsea say he will watch the game on TV in a "special place." Yet UEFA say they will not be monitoring him and nor will they check in the Chelsea dugout to see whether text messages are being sent or phone calls made. UEFA spokesman Frits Ahlstrom said: "You have to trust people. It's all about trust. If we don't trust each other where are we? I think Jose will obey. I have known him for 10 years. Brito claimed he would switch off his own mobile two hours before the game. -- The Sun (UK)

Lee Bowyer faces a battle to play for Newcastle again after the English Football Association handed him another violent conduct charge yesterday. Bowyer has already been banned for four matches, but the FA yesterday paved the way to extend his exile at a disciplinary hearing later this month. If Bowyer's current ban is extended, he'll be running out of domestic games to make a comeback this season, with the club certain to transfer list him in the summer. Bowyer is officially the dirtiest player in the Premiership with a terrible record this season of three sendings off and nine bookings in 34 starts in all competitions. -- The Daily Mirror ( UK

Kieron Dyer will not be fined for his bust-up with on-field fight with teammate Bowyer. Dyer was red-carded after clashing with Bowyer as Newcastle slipped to a 3-0 defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday. But Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has confirmed the club will not take further action against him -- despite fining Bowyer six weeks' wages. Shepherd said: "We have said right from the start that Kieron Dyer was the innocent party and we have not changed our minds." -- The Sun (UK)

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