WHAT DOES A STADIUM BAN MEAN?

JOSE MOURINHO will be banned from Chelsea’s next Premier League game — at Stoke this Saturday. According to FA rules he is ‘banned from attending, at any time on the match day, the stadium or the ground at which Chelsea’s first team plays its next match in an approved competition’. He will not be able to communicate with his players or coaching staff, either.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The FA will release their written reasons later this week, at which point Mourinho has a right to appeal. If he does so, that could delay proceedings and mean he is free to attend the Stoke match. But if the decision is upheld he could miss a future game. Chelsea’s following two league games are Norwich at home (Nov 21) and Tottenham away (Nov 29).

IS THERE ANY WAY AROUND IT?

In theory, no. But that’s not stopped Jose before. To avoid a similar ban from UEFA in 2005, Mourinho entered Stamford Bridge undetected for a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich and fed information to his assistants from the dressing room. He later left the ground in a laundry basket.

WHERE MIGHT HE WATCH THE GAME?

The game is live on Sky Sports, so Jose could watch from the team hotel or the local boozer. St George’s Park is just down the road so he could drop in to FA HQ and watch it there. If he wants to get closer to the action, some Stoke fans still try to watch for free from a hill that overlooks the Britannia Stadium.