Drogba to face a whopping five-match ban.

Chelsea will lose the services of striker Didier Drogba, after it is likely to be confirmed that he will be banned for five matches when the Champions League starts next season. Drogba came under a UEFA investigation following his antics after the semi-final loss to Barcelona last season.

Drogba, quite literally, went mad and started swearing and screaming at television cameras as well as the referee for that game, Tom Henning Ovrebo. Drogba had been upset that during the important match against Barca, the referee quite blatantly refused to give the London side a penalty on more than one occasion.

His frustration was shared because some of the appeals were quite obviously justified but the way he dealt with the proceeding situation was not admirable and now means that Chelsea will be without one of their best players when the biggest competition in European football starts up again in a few months time.

There will be a further meeting today to see whether or not a number of other Chelsea players should be fined or banned. Defender, Jose Bosingwa, could also be out for a couple of matches after the referee reported that he had been called a ‘thief’ by the Portuguese star.

Chelsea could also pick up a rather substantial fine for not being able to control their players during a match and even though the frustration was widespread and justified on the part of the players, they still had responsibilities and had they seen out the match it would not have been a problem. However, any financial punishment dealt out to the club is unlikely to be that great and they would be able to pay a fine with little difficulty.

Chelsea will just want the whole matter to be over. It clearly is not something they were proud of and it would have embarrassed a lot of their playing staff and coaches. Furthermore, Carlo Ancelotti will want to start a fresh and create a new regime of discipline and strictness that means Chelsea would be the last side you would associate with such goings on if there was ever a repeat incident in the future.

Drogba did not cover himself in glory on that occasion and should be looking to make amends for his actions when his ban is over or lifted. Chelsea could appeal against the likely decision but it would be pointless. One of the biggest principles that UEFA hold their guidelines on is the respect that is shown to fellow players and referees. On this occasion it was breached in epic proportions and the club should not risk annoying the officials who have the power to make the situation a lot worse than it already is.

That evening was a very strange occasion when the football ended up not being the main talking point. Chelsea have learnt their lesson and everyone should move on from the whole affair. If Drogba wants to eradicate the embarrassment then he should keep his head down and under the radar although this is not in his nature.