Didier Drogba has held his hands up (this time without a coin) to a charge of violent conduct. The Chelsea striker had until 6pm tonight to appeal the charge although with very little defence has decided not to do so and the case is therefore set to be heard tomorrow.

Drogba’s never far from controversy and his coin throwing has certainly created plenty of that, with everyone putting there twopence worth in (hideous pun there).

In the case for Drogba’s defence, we’ve had Frank Lampard claim “There are two sides to it, Didier’s come out and there’s been a reaction, a human reaction I have to say, which Jamie Carragher made once. He’s come out straight away and said he’s made a mistake. People also have got to stop throwing things on the pitch. I was around Didier at the time and I don’t know how many coins there were around. We’ve seen referees getting hit, too, so I think people have to take responsibility as a group.”

Then we’ve had uncle Harry suggest “I have met Didier Drogba and he is a terrific guy. I’m sure it’s the kind of thing that when he woke the next morning he would have deeply regretted it. Fans should not be throwing coins in the first place. A linesman got badly cut when he was hit by a coin up at Villa and it made a real mess of his head. He could have lost an eye.”

Arsene Wenger supported Drogba by saying “I believe, overall that Drogba is a fair player. He had a moment of non-controlled reaction and he accepted that and he apologised and you have to accept that it is certain as well he will be punished. From then on I believe who insult from the stands, or throw things from the stands, feel too much that they are not punished. You have to isolate people who do that because they can injure people on the pitch and they need to be punished as well, not only the players.”

Even Ian-opinion-on-everything-Wright has said “Didier Drogba could have been blinded or even killed by the Burnley morons who pelted him with coins the other night.”

Yet there doesn’t seem to have been quite as much condemnation over the incident as I’d have expected if I’m honest. Mark Hughes certainly wasn’t in support of the Ivorian’s actions, although even his reaction was hardly condemning, with the City manager stating “It is very difficult. Players take a lot of abuse on occasion. Friendly banter you can take but the personal stuff is much harder and coin throwing is totally unacceptable. What you can never do is react because you know the consequences. Didier Drogba has already apologised for his actions. It is an emotional game, maybe the emotions took over. But I think he understands there will be consequences and that is how it should be.”

Chelsea meanwhile, have decided to stay fairly tight-lipped over the whole thing, refusing to confirm or deny any internal punishment – which to me is no different to supporting him – not a stance I happen to agree with, and one that will do about as much for our public image as Drogba does himself in my opinion.

And despite his many misdemeanours: the diving; the indecision over his future; the negativity expressed about the club he plays for; the petulance, and the inability to keep his opinions to himself, I can still see a three-match ban being returned by the FA and yet another Didier Drogba controversy being swept under the carpet by Chelsea.

Filed under: Current Players, Rants