Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger have defended Chelsea striker Didier Drogba after he acknowledged diving in Saturday's match.
Drogba scored both goals in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Manchester City, although he admitted handling the ball on the second.
"Sometimes I dive," Drogba said in a BBC interview after Saturday's game. "Sometimes I stay up. I don't care about this."
PHOTO: AP
Later in the same interview, however, the Ivory Coast player said he didn't dive. And he also denied diving in a statement released on Chelsea's Web site.
"Unfortunately in the emotion of winning the game my comments have come across partly in the wrong way," Drogba said. "I want to make clear that I don't dive."
Drogba, a tall, powerful player, has gained a reputation for falling over easily and feigning injury. On Saturday, he went down dramatically clutching his eye after a challenge from Richard Dunne.
Mourinho defended his striker Monday.
"Sometimes he is a player who does not get what he deserves," Mourinho said. "Drogba is a fighter. I am happy with him and we are happy to have a professional like him."
Arsenal manager Wenger, who has been critical of Chelsea and Mourinho, sided this time with his rival. Wenger, a Frenchman, suggested that Drogba -- a native French speaker -- may have misunderstood the question.
"Drogba is a bit in the spotlight at the moment but, overall, I like his attitude," Wenger said. "He's not an unfair player. Maybe he gets shoved and pushed as well and no one sees it. Defenders cheat as well, it's not only strikers."
A television replay of Drogba's second goal on Saturday showed he handled the ball with his right arms before scoring. The referee and linesman missed it. A week earlier, Drogba scored off a handball, but that goal was disallowed.
"Yes, it is [a handball,]" Drogba said after Saturday's game. "It's part of the game. If Manchester City score like this, nobody speaks, but everybody wants to make something about Chelsea, I don't know why."
Said Wenger: "Maybe he was wrong with the handball when he scored the goal. But I don't think you should single out Drogba."
Players' union chief Gordon Taylor said Drogba is letting himself down by his on-field antics.
"The lad is one of the best strikers to come out of Africa. He is a top talented player and it diminishes the quality of his game by what he is doing," Taylor said.
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