Torres facing four-match ban after scratching Jan Vertonghen

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres

Chelsea's fury over Fernando Torres' White Hart Lane red card is set to explode when they learn the striker is facing a FOUR match ban.

Blues manager Jose Mourinho accused Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen of conning ref Mike Dean by staying down and implying he had been elbowed by Torres in an aerial challenge that saw Dean show the Spaniard his second yellow card.

But Torres is now poised to fall foul of FA beaks over his initial spat with Vertonghen during Saturday's 1-1 draw, in which he appeared to scratch and scrape at the defender's face.

Despite the video evidence showing there was no contact with the Belgian's face in the incident that sparked his dismissal, Torres has no right of appeal under FA rules.

However, he now faces a further disciplinary charge and becoming the first player judged by the Premier League and FA's new video panel of former referees over the first flashpoint.

Wembley chiefs will contact Dean on Monday to ask him to explain Torres' first yellow card.

The whsitler is understood to be ready to report that he booked Torres for a trip on Vertonghen, and not for the altercation which followed, which he will insist he did not see.

If that is so, the FA will refer the incident to the video panel, and if all three ex-referees agree that it represented violent conduct, Torres will receive an automatic extra three games.

That would rule him out of the west Londoners' league meetings with Cardiff and Manchester City and the Capital One Cup trip to Arsenal, in addition to next week's game at Norwich.

Mourinho backed Dean after Saturday's game, insisting he had made an "honest" mistake and that Vertonghen was the "guilty" party.

The Special One boss said: "The referee trusted the player. When he saw him pretending there had been a violent action he took a normal decision. It was a bad one but the player didn't help the referee."

But Chelsea will doubtless feel victimised if Torres suffers from football's version of double jeopardy, and Mourinho's view of the official is unlikely to be as supportive.

Adapted from Daily Mirror