ON A night of raw emotion in the Nou Camp, the most surprising story doing the rounds was the suggestion that José Mourinho had been kicked up the backside by the Barcelona assistant coach. That was quickly dismissed by Chelsea, but nobody could deny that a torrid few days have threatened to knock the bottom out of the club’s season.

Whatever the merits of Chelsea’s decision to lodge an official complaint with Uefa, the European governing body, about a half-time discussion between Anders Frisk, the Swedish referee, and Frank Rijkaard, the Barcelona coach, the anger emanating from it highlighted the mood-swing in West London. It also prompted Henk ten Cate, the man who had supposedly delivered the phantom boot, to belittle the Chelsea manager. “Coaches are always moaning to referees about decisions in big matches,” he said. “It’s a bit pathetic to react the way he’s done.”

Mourinho has reasons to be rattled. A diminished attack, two red cards in Chelsea’s past two matches, the FA Premier League inquiry into the alleged tapping-up of Ashley Cole and now a bum deal in Barcelona constitute an awful month. In failing to attend the mandatory press conference after the 2-1 first-leg defeat in the European Cup on Wednesday, Mourinho is likely to incur a fine for breaching Uefa policy and some detractors will now view Chelsea as graceless losers.

Suddenly, the Carling Cup, once the most insignificant part of their quest for the quadruple, has assumed huge importance. As much as an opportunity for Mourinho to win a first trophy, Sunday’s final against Liverpool is a chance to stop the bleeding.

Mourinho is an intelligent, thoughtful manager, but the fallout from the first leg has done nothing to enhance his reputation. “We had people in the dressing-room area, probably more people than normal, and they didn’t notice anything going on,” William Gaillard, the Uefa director of communications, said. The no-show at the press conference was “a violation of the rules”, he added. Had Rijkaard been guilty of anything, Gaillard said, Frisk could have sent him off.

Rijkaard also appeared bemused by the brouhaha and both his players and the Catalan press were quick to paint Mourinho as a sour loser.

“Everyone had talked about super Chelsea before the game, but I didn’t see anything super out there,” Rafael Márquez, the defender, said. “The only team that played football was us. When a team just waits for their opponents or the referee to make a mistake, it makes you angry.”

Chelsea distanced themselves from reports that Ten Cate had kicked Mourinho, but they feel that Frisk erred in having his half-time conversation with Rijkaard. “It is being reported through various media outlets that an incident occurred between José Mourinho and a member of the Barcelona coaching staff,” a club statement read. “This incident did not happen and Chelsea can therefore confirm that this will not form part of our report to Uefa, which is currently being prepared.”

Instead, that report will question why Frisk and Rijkaard needed to converse at the break. Innocent, perhaps, but it is easy to understand why Mourinho would have been riled by reports that Rijkaard entered Frisk’s room.

Rijkaard, who accused Chelsea of exaggerating the incident, will escape censure, but this is not the first time that Mourinho has been roused by his perception that a rival has sought to influence an official. Only last month he was charged with improper conduct by the FA after making comments about a similar half-time exchange between Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, and Neale Barry, the referee, during the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final. He has requested a personal hearing.

That Frisk sent off Didier Drogba 11 minutes after the restart on Wednesday again shook his sense of injustice and Keith Hackett, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, the body representing Premiership referees, lent an unlikely voice of support. “I think at half-time, in that area, it should be avoided because it does not look right,” he said of such discussions. “The referee does not have to explain his decisions — there is no gain for him to do this.”

It may be that this is a carefully executed smokescreen by Mourinho to deflect from his side’s inadequacies on Wednesday, but there is a mounting feeling that Chelsea are stumbling towards the precipice. For ten men to lose 2-1 in the Nou Camp is a creditable result, but the absence of Drogba and the injured Arjen Robben for the second leg limits their attacking potency.

The news from Cardiff is that the roof of the Millennium Stadium will be closed for the Carling Cup final. Should Chelsea lose a third game in eight days, it may be that the roof will then cave in on a season that had promised so much.