Having been fined £25,000 by the Football Association for comments made about match officials after last month's game against Southampton and seeing his star striker Diego Costa charged with violent conduct on successive days, in the private world of Jose Mourinho it was further proof, if indeed it was needed, that there is a campaign against Chelsea.
The F.A., referees, assistant referees, fourth officials, the media . . . the world, probably . . . everyone is conspiring against Chelsea. So there was only one way Mourinho could strike back against the evil conspirators.
He canceled Friday's news conference on the eve of the visit of Manchester City, a game that will have a significant bearing on the destination of the Premier League title. The fact that he was denying Chelsea fans — the innocent party in Mourinho's fantasy — the chance of hearing what their manager has to say about one of the biggest matches of the season was irrelevant.