Not sure what’s worse, that William Gallas threatened to score an own goal, that Chelsea are responding so drastically to a pretty run of the mill set of comments from a bitter ex-player or that even in official statements they literally refer to themselves as the “family”.
The full statement from Chelsea’s official website can be found here, and the interesting and cringe-worthy parts below:
When José Mourinho generously offered him a way back into the “family” after the American tour, this was thrown back in the Chelsea manager’s face.
The manager told him that, even if he did not agree a new contract but returned to the “family” and abided by the rules, he would still select the best players available and would not punish him playing wise.
Before the first game of the season against Manchester City, when only four defenders were available and John Terry was doubtful with an injury, he refused to play.
He went on to threaten that if he was forced to play, or if he was disciplined and financially punished for his breach of the rules, that he could score an own goal or get himself sent off, or make deliberate mistakes.
Clearly this was a totally unacceptable situation for the manager, the team and the club.
Yes, Gallas made a point to criticise Mourinho after he left but obviously he felt he had been mistreated by the manager at the club. And threatening to score own goals and make errors is less than professional. It’s one thing for Mourinho to respond on his own but for Chelsea as an football organisation to respond in such a way seems a little childish, and really that whole “family” stuff is just embarassing.
A warning to current and ex Chelsea players, certainly, and to be honest we can’t wait to see where this goes with both Gallas and his former club unwilling to put away the handbags.