Wilkinson rap for Chelsea in licence row

League managers' chief and ex-Owls boss Howard Wilkinson claims Chelsea should have sorted out the issue with Avram Grant's coaching qualifications before they appointed him as Jose Mourinho's successor.

Grant, aged 52, has qualifications from his home country Israel but UEFA sources say they are only equivalent to the A licence. He needs the UEFA Pro Licence to manage in the Premier League.

The League may decide that, as a former manager of Israel, he qualifies for a special dispensation certificate.

But Wilkinson, chairman of the League Managers’ Association, believes such issues should have been sorted out before the appointment.

He said: “This is not about Avram Grant, this is a matter of principle. One thing that disappoints us greatly is when clubs don’t check beforehand.”