Cole crisis heightens

Ashley Cole's agent last night dismissed accusations from Chelsea that he set up the infamous "tapping-up" meeting. Jonathan Barnett has consistently denied that he and his client met Chelsea's manager, Jose Mourinho, and chief executive, Peter Kenyon. Yesterday he described as "ludicrous" the allegation that he set up the meeting, which was reported to have taken place at the end of January in a London hotel, by contacting Pini Zahavi, the agent acting for Chelsea.

"Unsubstantiated accusations have been made against my client, which are totally wrong," Barnett said. "As a result, he has been subjected to an intolerable level of pressure I find unacceptable. I am happy to confirm that the accusations levelled at Ashley are entirely false. Not only that, they are both appalling and offensive."

The Premier League's inquiry into the alleged meeting begins today, and speaking after his side's 1-0 win over Bolton in the sixth round of the FA Cup yesterday, the Arsenal manager, Arséne Wenger, said: "This case is very sad and very unfortunate because you expect your neighbours in the same city with that power not to behave like that." Cole was on the bench yesterday, but Wenger put it down to "hamstring problems", adding: "The fact that I didn't play him had nothing to do with the stories on the back pages."

The Frenchman said he wants to keep Cole, saying: "My desire is that Ashley signs a new deal and one day becomes captain. I want him to stay and become one of the great players at this club."

Fight fans will doubtless be hoping for an Arsenal-Manchester United semi-final after Sir Alex Ferguson's side ran out easy winners at Southampton yesterday evening, thanks to two goals from Paul Scholes and one each from Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo.

United have said they will ban for life the supporter who "stained their reputation" by throwing a flare on to the St Mary's pitch. The flare came close to hitting Saints keeper Paul Smith before it landed in the penalty area and play was held up as it burned out and later removed. CCTV pictures appeared to identify the culprit.

Chelsea were involved in more controversy after their Champions' League defeat in Barcelona last month, and the Swedish referee at the centre of the feud between Mourinho and his Barcelona counterpart, Frank Rijkaard, has announced his retirement after a series of threats. Anders Frisk, an international referee for 16 years, said his family's welfare could be at risk if he carried on.

Mourinho incurred the wrath of Uefa, Europe's ruling body, when he claimed that Rijkaard had spoken to Frisk in the referee's changing room at half-time, especially when Frisk sent off his French striker Didier Drogba. "The threats toward me have escalated after the Barcelona-Chelsea game," Frisk said. "It's not worth carrying on. My safety and the safety of my family go before anything else."

Cole may end up leaving Highbury, but Martin Jol has elected to stay put at White Hart Lane. The Dutchman has resisted an offer from Ajax in favour of remaining as Spurs' head coach. "I am not interested in the job at all," he said of the vacancy in Amsterdam.