SUPPORTERS of Chelsea and Fulham had to be separated by police and stewards on the pitch at Craven Cottage yesterday; scenes certain to be investigated by the Football Association. Although large-scale clashes were prevented, the governing body will want an explanation as to how hundreds of supporters made it on to the pitch.

The trouble, which spread into a local park, followed Fulham’s 1-0 victory in the Barclays Premiership. It was only the fourth defeat for José Mourinho in 68 league matches and it sparked wild scenes of celebrations from the home supporters.

While many seemed happy simply to mob their own players, some gestures towards the away end incited some Chelsea supporters to come on to the pitch and there were isolated fights that will be reported to the FA by Mike Dean, the referee. Several fans were led away by police officers, although there were no reports of arrests, and the general feeling of the constabulary was probably relief that it was not far worse.

“If there were one or two idiots causing trouble, sling them out,” Chris Coleman, the Fulham manager, said. “There is no room for them at Fulham but I thought there were a lot more positives than negatives today.”

His team were excellent but their victory was overshadowed by the sort of controversy that seems to come with every Chelsea defeat. Mourinho was furious that an equalising goal from Didier Drogba was disallowed, although he did not dispute that the forward had committed handball.

His anger was directed at Dean and Paul Norman, one of the referee’s assistants, who gave the free kick against Drogba even though neither seemed to have a clear view of the incident. It prompted Mourinho to make more wild allegations about the injustices visited upon Chelsea and his mood was hardly helped by William Gallas’s late dismissal.

Referring back to the stormy match away to West Bromwich Albion, when Arjen Robben was sent off and Chelsea charged by the FA with intimidating the referee, the Portuguese saw more evidence of conspiracy.

“In this league there are 19 managers plus one, 19 on one side of the table and one on the other side,” he said. “At West Brom against Chelsea, I had the final proof about that. But Bryan Robson is Bryan Robson and José Mourinho is José Mourinho. We are not the same.

“Fulham players put pressure on the referee and linesman today. When Chelsea does that, it is the end of the world and the FA run after us.”

Despite the defeat, Chelsea remained 12 points clear at the top of the Premiership. Manchester United have one game in hand and the sides meet on April 29 but it would still take a collapse of Devon Loch proportions for Chelsea to throw away a second successive championship.

On another day when Chelsea filled the newspapers, Mourinho also had to deny a report that he would be leaving Stamford Bridge for Inter Milan this summer. “I am staying here at Chelsea,” he said. “I see no reason why I won’t be here next season. The whole story, the false story, is a lack of respect for me, for Chelsea, for Roberto (Mancini, the Italian side’s coach) and for Inter Milan.

“The reality is my contract is until 2010, I am happy to be here and we, I hope, will again have a successful season. There are people who have had no success and stayed in their jobs. We are waiting for success this season, perhaps the most successful ever for Chelsea, and preparing for the next one already. There are no problems between us. I am happy with the group and they are happy with me.”