Jose Mourinho has confirmed he will not appeal the one-match stadium ban handed to him by the Football Association this week, meaning he will not be on the bench for Chelsea's crucial Premier League clash with Stoke City on Saturday.
The FA charged the Portuguese coach with misconduct and fined him £40,000 for his behaviour after he entered referee Jonathan Moss's room during the half-time break of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to West Ham at Upton Park last month.
Mourinho and Chelsea had until midday today to lodge an appeal against the stadium ban, which may have seen the Blues boss take his place on the bench at the Britannia Stadium if the FA decided to delay any hearing until next week.
But Mourinho has confirmed he will not appeal his stadium ban because he feels he will not succeed in overturning the FA's original decision.
Asked if he would appeal, Mourinho said on Friday: "No. Because the match is tomorrow and I know the result of that appeal already. I decided to give up. I don't speak about it.
"It's stupid to fight a fight that you know you have already lost."
The Chelsea boss did say, however, that he intends on travelling with his players to Stoke and will also decide on any substitutions while the game is underway.
"I choose the team, I predict as much as I can the different aspects of the game and I try to prepare them better than ever," he said.
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