Why it is decision time for Chelsea over cry baby Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba's career could be plunged into crisis after his Champions League madness.

His amazing bust-up at the end of Chelsea's exit at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday has once again raised doubts about his temperament.

Drogba, 31, appeared to be on his way out of Stamford Bridge in the summer after being sent off in last year's Champions League final.

That was bad enough but once again his short fuse has returned to haunt him - and could have even bigger consequences this time.

Drogba, who has one year left on his £100,000-a-week deal, has seen his season plagued by injuries, he was hit by a European ban and then fell out of favour with former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.

But just as the Ivory Coast ace appeared to be rebuilding his career at the Bridge, his actions on Wednesday have left grave doubts about his future. UEFA are likely to hit Drogba with a lengthy ban after his furious rant at Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

It does not matter to UEFA that Drogba believes Ovrebo cheated Chelsea out of a place in the Champions League final by turning down four penalty appeals.

It was Drogba's actions at the final whistle that shocked football.

The Chelsea striker completely lost the plot, hounding the referee towards the tunnel.

Drogba desperately tried to get at Ovrebo before being pulled away by Chelsea stewards and then swearing into the TV cameras.

The strike ace showed his good and bad side against Barcelona, battering their defence and working tirelessly for his team.

But the bad side was his histrionics, his continual diving and falls to the ground, which ultimately backfired because Andres Iniesta scored Barcelona's equaliser in injury time mostly added on for Drogba.

He was eventually substituted and even sulked about that as he headed straight down the tunnel - only to emerge for his angry rant at Ovrebo while wearing flip-flops.

This summer is a pivotal time for Drogba as it is likely to be interim boss Guus Hiddink who recommends to owner Roman Abramovich whether to keep the troublesome striker or let him go after five years at Chelsea.

One thing is for certain, Chelsea will have to decide quickly because they cannot afford to let his contract run out and allow the £24m signing walk away on a free transfer.

And the even bigger decision is whether they stick with a striker who is getting on and could be hit with a six-game ban - which would rule him out of the entire Champions League Group stage next season.

That would force Chelsea to have to look at buying another striker and also raises the question of which other club would buy a big-name player with a lengthy European ban hanging over his head.

However, Drogba does have friends and supporters in the dressing room as yesterday Frank Lampard leapt to his defence, insisting that no one could blame him for his moment of madness on Wednesday night.

Team-mate Lampard declared: "I can understand Didier's reactions.

"He's an emotional man. That's the sort of player you want to play with and people can relate to that.

"All the fans in the stadium were frustrated at the end and I don't think people should make too much out of that. We were trying to get to the final and Didier wanted to get to the final and when that gets taken away you get passionate about it.

"I don't what people expect. When you have 11 grown men battling to get to the final and at least three penalty decisions don't go your way you can't expect men to walk off quietly.

"There was nothing violent, it was just angry because we had worked so very hard to get this far." Chelsea's other villain on Wednesday night was Michael Ballack, who could also face UEFA action for his hounding of the ref after being denied a penalty.

German veteran Ballack, 32, has a one-year extension contract option, but Chelsea have yet to take it up.

It is difficult to see any other club matching Ballack's £130,000-a-week wages and that makes it likely he will stay at Chelsea, even though he could also be hit with a significant UEFA ban.

Hiddink seems on his way back to his full-time job with Russia but, with AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti their manager-in-waiting, decisions on players are likely to be taken over the course of the next few weeks.

The biggest question mark surrounds Chelsea's strike force. Nicolas Anelka's future seems in doubt, while Drogba has reached the crossroads in his career at Stamford Bridge.

DROGBA'S TANTRUMS AND TEARS

Scoring goals and moaning go hand in hand with Didier Drogba - and there was no shortage of the latter on Wednesday. The Ivory Coast star spent the night screaming at referee Tom Henning Ovrebo and claimed a penalty after his shirt was tugged by Eric Abidal. But Drogba saved the best until the final whistle with a fierce rant at the Norwegian.

AND HE'S GOT SOME PREVIOUS

Drogba was sent off at Barcelona in February 2005 for a second yellow card after clashing with Victor Valdes, who also kept goal on Wednesday.

Swedish ref Anders Frisk was criticised by then-Blues boss Jose Mourinho and after receiving death threats, Frisk quit the game 16 days later.

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