Spurs players surrounded referee Mike Riley following the challenge in the first half and furious assistant manager Gus Poyet told fourth official Steve Bennett: "That is a f****** red card and you know it."

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos said: "The referee decided it was a yellow card, but we've seen tackles which were much less serious and they have earned red cards.

"Robbie Keane was sent off for a tackle less serious than that against Birmingham. But we have to respect the officials' decisions.

"It's best not to dwell on that kind of action. We're just very fortunate there weren't any injuries to players."

This incredible match boiled over when Frank Lampard took out Jermaine Jenas, who had to be substituted at half-time, but there was more to come.

The major flashpoint occurred when Cole clashed with Hutton and Tottenham demanded the left back's dismissal. Players clashed as they walked down the tunnel and Poyet could be seen remonstrating with Cole.

Poyet said: "It would be unfair on Ashley to talk about only his challenge after the game we had. I prefer not to go into it, but it looked strange."

Incredibly, Chelsea manager Avram Grant claimed he did not see the incident - even though it happened in front of the Chelsea bench.

Grant said: "The assistant referee was in my way. I saw the Tottenham bench jump up, but the referee was two metres away. We must respect his decision."