Drogba apologises

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has issued an apology for throwing a coin back into the crowd during their Carling Cup defeat by Championship side Burnley.

But he could still be subject to an investigation by the Football Association over the incident in the 5-4 penalty shootout loss.

Drogba was handed a yellow card when he was seen throwing the coin back into the crowd after putting Chelsea in front after 27 minutes.

A spokesman for Chelsea said: "We will deal with this in the usual way. We are aware there is an incident. But we will not discuss it further until we have seen the referee's report."

Burnley manager Owen Coyle did not see the incident and Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said: "I have not spoken with Didier about any problem. The referee gave him a yellow card but I did not see what happened."

In 2002, Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was sent off in an FA Cup tie against Arsenal at Highbury after throwing a coin back into the crowd. He received a mandatory three-match ban. He was also interviewed by police but no further action was taken. However, Carragher was fined by the club and warned as to his future conduct.

In a statement on the club's website, www.chelseafc.com, Drogba said: "This is something I want to make clear. I tried to celebrate the goal and I received some things at me.

"The big mistake I did was to throw it back so if someone was hurt I just want to apologise for it.

"This is not something I should show in a football match and I want to apologise.

"It was an incident in the heat of the moment and I regret it. It was just a mistake and nothing more."