Mourinho regrets hurting Wenger

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has apologised to Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger for calling him a "voyeur" earlier this season.

Mourinho made his comments in October, reacting to Wenger's suggestion that champions Chelsea were suffering a dip in form after a draw with then bottom club Everton and a League Cup defeat by Charlton Athletic.

The Portuguese coach accused Wenger of "having a real problem with us" and said "he is someone who likes to watch other people -- in English you say voyeur."

Wenger threatened legal action and branded Mourinho "stupid" and the long-running feud between the pair re-surfaced again at the weekend when Mourinho refused to shake Wenger's hand after his side beat Arsenal 2-0 at Highbury.

Mourinho was reportedly upset that Wenger had not responded to a personal apology he had sent in a Christmas card.

In an interview in men's magazine FHM, however, Mourinho appeared to offer an olive branch to his rival, saying he regretted using the word voyeur.

"For sure. I do not want to hurt him like I did," said Mourinho. "If I could go back I would say 'Hey, it's time to stop talking about Chelsea, go to your corner and speak about your team'.

"But I wouldn't say what I said about him that hurt him. I didn't intend that. If I could go back and change it then I would."

For his part Wenger denied that he had snubbed Mourinho on Sunday, saying that card, or no card, he was happy to put the incident to rest.

"I appreciated the sentiment in the card," the Frenchman was quoted in the Sun. "It was an apology but I had no pre-conceived ideas or special resentment. Once I said it was over, it's over.

"And if the card had come in or not it would not have changed the way I feel about the situation. We didn't blank anybody ...I'd never talk to a rival before a game. I find it ridiculous. This card has been treated like a CIA bomb."