Mourinho arrested after police try to take Gullit, his elusive dog

With his reputation for questioning refereeing decisions and showing contempt for the governing bodies of football, Jose Mourinho has built a career out of getting his own way.

Now Chelsea's controversial Portuguese manager - the self-styled "special one" - is embroiled in a dispute with the forces of law and order.

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Mr Mourinho, 44, could face a criminal prosecution and a fine under Britain's anti-rabies laws after being arrested when he allegedly stopped police officers seizing his pet dog. He was formally cautioned when he apparently resisted attempts by animal welfare officials to place his Yorkshire terrier in quarantine.

Acting on a tip-off from a vet, two police officers and an official from the Animal Health and Welfare Service visited the Chelsea manager's Belgravia home on Tuesday night. Mr Mourinho, who was alerted to the visit after a telephone conversation with his wife, Tami, raced back from the Chelsea's players' player awards in Battersea.

He was told by the officers that they suspected he had brought the dog back from Portugual without it being properly vaccinated.

The Chelsea coach, who should be busy preparing his team for Saturday's FA Cup final with Manchester United, at first refused to give up the pet, named Gullit after Ruud Gullit, Chelsea's former player/manager.

During the two-hour stand-off Mr Mourinho said he had to take a phone call and went outside. When he returned, Gullit was gone. Mr Mourinho was then arrested for obstructing officers in the course of their duty and taken to a west London police station, where he was cautioned, fingerprinted and asked to provide a sample of DNA.

A spokeswoman for the City of London Corporation, which has responsibility for Animal Health and Welfare Service, said if it turned out that the owner of the pet had contravened anti-rabies laws then Mr Mourinho could be prosecuted at a magistrates' court and, if found guilty, receive a hefty fine.

Mr Mourinho has a reputation for offering spirited, and usually self-serving, interpretations of the laws of football. In 2005, he was fined £200,000 for taking part in a meeting with Arsenal full-back Ashley Cole in breach of the Premier League rules. In August 2005, his fine was reduced to £75,000 after a hearing. In the same year, he was handed a two-match suspension and a fine by Uefa for bringing the game into disrepute by criticising the referee Anders Frisk after a Champions League tie against Barcelona.

Mr Mourinho was at pains yesterday to claim the dog incident had been a misunderstanding. His spokesman said: "Jose Mourinho can confirm he was cautioned by police and released without charge earlier this morning after an incident involving his pet dog. The incident occurred due to a misunderstanding over documents required for veterinary regulations. Mr Mourinho would like to make it clear his dog was bought in England from a reputable breeder and has had all its necessary inoculations. Full co-operation will be given to the authorities over any animal health issues."

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Mourinho said nothing in football could hurt him after the events of the previous night.

He declared: "Nothing hurts me, nothing. Since what happened yesterday to my family, nothing hurts me, especially in football, nothing hurts me. It is impossible to compare my family with football. So for me in football nothing hurts. What hurts he is what happened yesterday to my family, not to me."

Last night, it was believed the dog had been found safe and well.

The Yorkshire terrier

* First bred to catch mice and rats in dens and burrows.

* Originated in Yorkshire and first appeared at an 1861 show in England as the 'Broken Haired Scotch Terrier'.

* Given the breed name Yorkshire Terrier in 1874.

* Celebrity-owners include Justin Timberlake.

* Mourinho's rival, the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, is believed to own one - although an Arsenal spokeswoman said this was news to her.