Uefa could make Blues sweat

Chelsea may have to wait several weeks to learn fate

Uefa general secretary David Taylor has admitted Chelsea may have to wait several weeks before discovering what action they could face in the wake of their UEFA Champions League exit.

The Blues crashed out of the competition at the semi-final stage to Barcelona on away goals at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, with the action overshadowed by the antics of several players, most notably Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack.

Chelsea had four penalty appeals waved away by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, with Ballack and Drogba overstepping the mark with their ugly protestations before and after the final whistle.

The Ivory Coast international has since issued a public apology for his behaviour, but Taylor admitted the scenes did little to aid the 'Respect' campaign which is being pushed by European football's governing body and the English Football Association.

"It was not pleasant to see, not the sort of example one wants," said Taylor.

"Uefa has a respect campaign and this just flies in the face of these worthy endeavours."

Evidence

Taylor would not be drawn on the possible outcome of Uefa's ongoing investigation but admitted that it could be some time before any decision is made.

"The proceedings are instigated by Uefa but the decision is made by the control and disciplinary body, which is quasi-independent," he said.

"They look at all the evidence, including video evidence, the objective and subjective factors, the mitigating circumstances - if any - before they come to some judgment.

"You can speculate, will somebody get this sentence or that sentence? It's pure speculation.

"At the moment I'm not going to confirm whether it's Drogba, Ballack, Chelsea, all three or others - these are the things we're looking at this weekend.

"It could be a number of weeks yet before such a decision will be made."