Torres was a disgrace but I sense the hand of Jose in this cowardly assault



Fernando Torres should face at least a three-match ban for his spiteful, cowardly assault on Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen and the FA has the power to enforce such a punishment.

The incident, six minutes into the second half, was played out in all its ugliness on video replays.

Torres was chasing another lost cause down the touchline and petulantly tripped Vertonghen. The foul was needless and probably caused by Torres’ frustration at being shackled so effectively by the Belgian.

Coming to blows: Chelsea's Fernando Torres (left) appears to scratch Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen

Early bath: Torres was later sent off for an aerial challenge with Spurs defender Vertonghen

SUPER STAT

None of the 11 goals scored from open play by Spurs and Chelsea in the Premier League this season have come from a striker

Referee Mike Dean saw the trip, but his view was not clear of the follow-up by the Spaniard, who grabbed his opponent and appeared to try and press a thumb into his face and scratch his cheek with his fingers.

You could see the spite on Torres’ face and there appeared to be an intention to cause harm. There is no place on the football field for such actions, which rugby sees too often and always cites and punishes with video evidence.

Let’s be clear here — Torres should have been sent off. And as the violent incident was clearly missed by all of the match officials, the FA can now have the incident reviewed by their disciplinary panel, which must surely recommend a suspension.

I would expect Dean to confirm that he would have sent off Torres had he had the chance to see the incident — any select group referee would have done so.

Making his point: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho criticised Vertonghen's playacting

Torres later got his comeuppance when he was red-carded following an aerial clash with Vertonghen.

That’s where Jose Mourinho enters the drama. The Chelsea manager is a past master a creating smokescreens to try to cover up wrongdoing from his stars and pointing the finger at Vertonghen’s actions following Torres’s jump at him is merely that.

Mourinho tried to make the Spurs player the villain of the piece, suggesting that he pretended to have been assaulted by Torres.

At full speed it did look as though Torres had jumped into Vertonghen and the defender’s reaction did not help Dean in determining what disciplinary action was correct.

Man in the middle: Referee Mike Dean attempts to sort out an altercation between Vertonghen and Torres

Video replays confirmed that, in fact, Torres made little contact with the Spurs player, who was perhaps frustrated at still having to face the Spaniard despite being assaulted 30 minutes earlier.



The defender should be complimented for not reacting during the first incident. But it is a pity he did not do the same after the second as, by going to ground in dramatic fashion, he gave ammunition to Mourinho, who jumped on the opportunity to apportion blame.

Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if Torres’ actions at White Hart Lane could be linked back to Mourinho. We know from the past that the Portuguese can draw the best from players by ‘winding them up’ before a match.

Impressing: Torres looked like he was returning to form, in action against Kyle Naughton

He likes his players to play with fire in their bellies and that was certainly the case with Torres here as he tried to take the opportunity to show his manager that he is a better option than Samuel Eto’o.

Mourinho had painted himself as a ‘Mr Happy’ when he returned to the Premier League. On Saturday we saw evidence of the old dark arts as he created mischief in an attempt to protect his players.

This will be the first case to be adjudicated by the FA’s new disciplinary panel and it will be fascinating to see what suspension Torres finally faces. I hope justice is done and a suspension of at least three games for violent conduct is served.