Lampard insists he was right to join the brawl

LONDON - FRANK Lampard insists he has no regrets over his role in Sunday's League Cup brawl.

The Chelsea midfielder's spat with Arsenal's Francesc Fabregas was a major part of the stoppage-time fracas.

He, along with the Arsenal midfielder, received a yellow card for his altercation.

The unsavoury brawl, in which both managers ran on to the Millennium Stadium pitch to calm the situation, was sparked by John Obi Mikel's challenge on Arsenal captain Kolo Toure.

The Arsenal player reacted violently, even though referee Howard Webb had awarded a free kick to the Gunners.

As they squared up to each other, the fighting spilled over to other players, with Lampard and Fabregas involved in an ugly confrontation.

Once the situation cooled down, Webb sent off both Toure and Mikel, as well as Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

There had been suggestions that Lampard should have been dismissed too.

However, he insists that he only did what he felt was right, in order to help out his colleagues.

He told football 365.com: 'This was a game both teams wanted to win.

'However much you want to criticise what happened at the end, and say it should not happen, we should all be happy it was a great battle.

'You back your teammate up and it escalates, it is as simple as that.

'Maybe when I sit down tonight, I will probably say I wish it hadn't got that far.

'But, when you are in the heat of the moment, it does go that far.

'It was a moment when you have to show restraint, and I think I showed enough restraint not to get a red card.''

The Chelsea vice-captain also collected the trophy in the absence of skipper John Terry.

The England captain was rushed to hospital, losing consciousness after being kicked in the head accidentally by Arsenal's Abou Diaby.

But the England captain checked out of hospital and returned to the stadium to join in the celebrations.

Two goals from Didier Drogba sealed a 2-1 victory, and Chelsea's second League Cup triumph in three years.

Lampard revealed the full horror of Terry's, as the medics battled for five minutes to bring him round.

He told teamtalk.com: 'He looked very bad. He was out cold but his eyes were flickering a little bit.

'It is not as bad as it could have been. It is not nice to see and there is panic, especially after the last couple of weeks when John has been playing with an ankle that is bad.

'You feel for his safety first and foremost.

'These things can stick in your mind and that is the worrying thing.

'It is easy with hindsight, but we got the news just after the game that he was okay and on his way back.'

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