Chelsea Football Club News

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1905
• Manager:Roberto Di Matteo

• Ground:Stamford Bridge
• Capacity:42,440

Ballack protests his innocence

17 Feb 2009 - 09:59:18

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Germany international Michael Ballack insists he was not behind a plot to get former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari sacked.

Weekend reports suggested the midfielder had been instrumental in forcing Scolari out of his job at Stamford Bridge, but Ballack has been quick to refute the suggestion.

He said: "I couldn't believe this. I was surprised when I heard about it in Germany as I always had a lot of good words about Scolari.

"This is not true. Meetings are normal in a club. If people speak with each other, even if you don't have the success you want, it has happened before. It's not just this week. It happened with other coaches.

"It's normal (Roman) Abramovich comes in the dressing-room and speaks with players. It's not easy, not nice to sack somebody. This was in the papers, but is definitely not true.

"There is no backing or basis for this. I had a good relationship with every coach. I never said this.

"It's speculation which appears in newspapers. I was disappointed as I couldn't react because I was away.

"In recent months I've spoken good things about the coach, but if you don't get the results, a lot of people speak."