Jose Mourinho will appeal the £50,000 fine and suspended one-match stadium ban imposed on him by the FA.
The Chelsea manager was sanctioned after he suggested referees were afraid to give his side penalties in the wake of their 3-1 home defeat to Southampton.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s home match against Aston Villa on Saturday, Mourinho said: “I have to be honest with myself – that is the most important thing – so I have to appeal.”
Mourinho described the fine as a “disgrace” at book signing on Thursday night but refused to comment further on Friday.
He added: “The moment we got the written reasons and I decided to appeal was the moment to stop with my opinions and not to add anything more than I did already.”
Chelsea sit 16th in the Premier League on just eight points ahead of welcoming a Villa side who are two places and four points worse off.
Despite Villa’s struggles, Mourinho refused to describe it as a must-win match.
“Every game is a must-win game, for different reasons,” he said. “We cannot run away from the reality of the table. Obviously we know we’re not going to be relegated. We know in a couple of months [that we will be] fine, but the reality, right now, is the numbers are cruel but objective.”
Mourinho will be without Branislav Ivanovic, who picked up a hamstring injury while representing Serbia, and long-term absentee Thibaut Courtois for the visit of Villa, but otherwise his players escaped the international break unscathed.
Striker Diego Costa is in contention to start after completing his three-match ban.
“Only Ivanovic injury, and Courtois – everyone else available,” Mourinho added. “For Ivanovic, I have four solutions: I have [Cesar] Azpilicueta; I have adaptations for [Kurt] Zouma and Ramires; I have Ola Aina, a boy with potential.”
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