Courtois cleared to play against Chelsea as UEFA warn Blues £5m Atletico demand would violate rules

Thibaut Courtois has been given the green light to face Chelsea after UEFA warned the Blues their demand of £5million from Atletico Madrid to play the on-loan goalkeeper was against the rules.
UEFA have acted quickly to block off the Stamford Bridge club's move, which could have seen the Spanish club's star keeper ruled out of the match if they were drawn against each other in the Champions League semi-finals. 
Cash-strapped Atletico would have struggled to find the money for the fee, but this has now been ruled out by the governing body.

A statement from UEFA said: 'The integrity of sporting competition is a fundamental principle for UEFA. Both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations contain clear provisions which strictly forbid any club to exert, or attempt to exert, any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match.
'It follows that any provision in a private contract between clubs which might function in such a way as to influence who a club fields in a match is null, void and unenforceable so far as UEFA is concerned.
'Furthermore, any attempt to enforce such a provision would be a clear violation of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and would therefore be sanctioned accordingly.

The Chelsea keeper has been on loan at Atletico for three seasons but the Madrid club’s president, Enrique Cerezo, told Spanish radio after the quarter-final triumph over Barcelona they would be 'unable to pay' the added fees which were part of the loan agreement.

Courtois, 21, who will represent Belgium at the summer World Cup, has yet to play for Chelsea, although he has been earmarked as Petr Cech’s successor. 

He has impressed in Atletico’s bid for a  Champions League and La Liga double after joining Chelsea from Belgian club Genk in 2011 when just 18.

The other two teams in Friday’s Champions League semi-final draw are Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. 

Jose Mourinho will wait for the FA’s written reasons before deciding whether or not to appeal against an £8,000 fine imposed yesterday for improper conduct.

The Chelsea manager was sent off by referee Chris Foy after encroaching on to the field of play during his side’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa last month.
Mourinho demanded to speak with Foy during the chaotic scenes after Ramires was sent off late in the game.
A group of Chelsea fans said there would be a bucket collection before Sunday afternoon’s clash at Swansea to help Mourinho pay for the ‘injustice’