Chelsea defender John Terry branded Sinisa Mihajlovic as a "disgrace" as the Lazio centre-back faced a UEFA investigation for spitting at Adrian Mutu during the Blues' 4-0 thrashing of the Italian side in Rome last night.
Chelsea's new-look side came of age in the Olympic Stadium as they moved within touching distance of the Champions League knock-out stages with an accomplished display that showed their true potential.
Teenage defender Glen Johnson may have let himself down with his late dismissal for two bookable offences, earning the wrath of his manager, Claudio Ranieri.
However, Johnson's loss of self-control was in stark contrast to the way in which Chelsea otherwise kept their cool in the face of considerable provocation, principally from Mihajlovic.
The Lazio defender, who was found guilty of racially abusing Patrick Vieira three years ago, was himself dismissed for two ugly fouls on Damien Duff last night.
But it was actually his disgraceful behaviour before then that makes it inevitable UEFA will have to check video evidence with a view to charging him with misconduct and extending his automatic one-match ban for the red card.
Mihajlovic not only stamped on Mutu as he lay on the ground but also spat into his ear after being elbowed by the Romanian international, who must himself hope that UEFA take an understanding view of his own actions.
All of those incidents were missed by the match officials, but Chelsea still managed to impose themselves on the Italian side. Terry nevertheless declared:
"What Mihajlovic did was disgusting and a disgrace. "I didn't actually see him spitting at Adrian but I went up for two corners and he elbowed me in the head and poked me in the eye.
"That was right in front of the referee and I can't believe how he missed it. I don't want to whinge but he let himself and his side down."
Lazio boss Roberto Mancini sought to apologise on Mihajlovic's behalf, although he also insisted that the defender had himself been reacting to provocation.
"If he really did that then it is a very serious thing and I would apologise on his behalf," said Mancini. "He will pay for it, I'm sure, and will probably be suspended, but he is a very nice man who doesn't normally do this kind of thing and if someone reacts, then they are normally reacting to what someone else has done."