Chelsea, Mourinho and Cole fined

Chelsea, their manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal's Ashley Cole were all fined heavily yesterday in the "tapping-up" affair of the England defender. The Premier League handed down a fine of £300,000 to Chelsea who were also told they would have three...

Chelsea, their manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal's Ashley Cole were all fined heavily yesterday in the "tapping-up" affair of the England defender.

The Premier League handed down a fine of £300,000 to Chelsea who were also told they would have three points deducted if they committed a similar offence next season.

Mourinho was fined £200,000 and Cole £100,000 after being found guilty of breaking Premier League rules.

The Premier League reached its decisions following an inquiry by an independent commission into allegations that Chelsea "tapped-up" Cole in January in an attempt to sign the England full back.

All the parties have 14 days in which to appeal. The previous highest fine for an illegal approach was the £20,000 Liverpool were fined for speaking to Christian Ziege when he was at Middlesbrough in 2000. The German defender was also fined £10,000.

The Premier League said Chelsea "were found to be in breach of Rule K3 which prohibits a club making an approach to a contract player either directly or indirectly without first obtaining permission of the club to which he is under contract".

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