Chelsea have been on a roll this season. Jose Mourinho’s men have been mostly unbeaten except for a loss against Newcastle. Regardless, they hold a three point lead over defending Barclays Premier League champions. This weekend, the Blues went head to head against Southampton. Southampton have been this season’s surprise package. The Saints have kept a top-four position for most of the season and at one time were trailing Chelsea in second. When the two sides met, it was expected to be a bit of a contest since Ronald Koeman’s men are known to defend well.
The match ended with a score of 1-1 but Jose Mourinho was not happy. He has one of the strongest squads in the Premier League but were unable to score a win against defiant Southampton. In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, the Special One had a lot to say about questionable refereeing decisions. The Portuguese boss felt that there is a ‘campaign’ against his side. Penalties are not awarded and the booking on Cesc Fabregas on alleged simulation was unfairly given. He even went as far as to term it as a ‘scandal’.
The Daily Mail quoted Mourinho saying, “The reality is that there are penalties and there are penalties – this was one was big, like Big Ben. Referees are not here to guess, they are there to see. He assumed dishonest with Cesc and he is wrong. Match after match coaches are saying Chelsea players are diving. Out of nothing Sam Allardyce starts talking about my players.
I will go to the referee, wish him a good year and tell him he will be ashamed. There is a campaign against Chelsea. In other countries where I worked before, tomorrow in the sports papers it would be front-page scandal because it is a scandal. In this country – and I am happy with that, more than happy with that – we will just say that it was a big mistake with a big influence in the result. I am happy that it is this way, with respect for the referee. He made a big mistake like I make, like the players make sometimes.”
The former Real Madrid boss further added, “They (referee decisions) are not incidents, they are not incidents – that’s a campaign, that’s a campaign. That’s a clear campaign. People, pundits, commentators, coaches from other teams – they react with Chelsea in a way they don’t react to other teams.”
Prior to Fabregas, Diego Costa, Cary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic, Willian have all been cautioned for alleged dives. Mourinho has suggested that there should be a device that allows refereeing decisions to be rescinded.
Goal-line technology has now been implemented in the Premier League but a replay system for referee decisions has not been considered yet. Regardless of any controversies, scandals or campaign Mourinho thinks is against him and Chelsea; they remain on top of the league and are one of the favorites to clinch the title from Manchester City by the end of the season. Mourinho never holds back when he has the opportunity to speak, and it is possible that Premier League authorities could take him seriously and develop a system that is fair to referees and players.