It seems that Chelsea FC can no longer play without a referee controversy and the match vs Southampton was no different as the two managers took opposing views of the referee Mike Dean’s performance. The last time the two sides played the match ended in a stalemate but Jose Mourinho felt the Blues deserved a penalty when Cesc Fabregas was fouled in the box. Instead, Fabregas was shown a yellow card for simulation although replays showed enough contact to justify the claim.
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This time around, the referee was in the thick of things at Stamford Bridge and made several important calls and non-calls that swung the match to and fro. Dean’s penalty call on Nemanja Matic was harsh as the Serbian made contact with Sadio Mane but not before he won the ball. The Senegalese forward went down and Dean pointed to the spot to give the Saints a chance to equalize against Chelsea FC.
The Blues would have no such luck as Dean seemed to have swallowed his whistle when the ball was in the Saints’ box. Branislav Ivanovic was stepped on by Dusan Tadic as he chased down a loose ball but the ref did not blow his whistle as the Serb went down a bit theatrically. The initial viewing from the far camera angle made it seem as if he dived but replays showed he was clearly stepped on.
The second incident was Diego Costa being tackled in the box by Jose Fonte but the referee did not point to the spot as he should have. If the tackle from Matic was a foul then so was the one from Fonte on Costa. The maddening lack of consistency from FA appointed referees reached a new low today as Southampton was given the freedom to do as they liked. Victor Wanyama’s scissor tackle from behind on Eden Hazard should have produced a red card but instead the Kenyan was simply given a yellow.
Of course Southampton manager Ronald Koeman would be pleased with all of the decisions because they all went his side’s way. Koeman was asked about the penalty and Matic’s foul on Mane and said, “In my opinion it’s a penalty, yes. It’s difficult jobs for referees. (Matic on Mane) is a foul that maybe can be a yellow card and that means his second one. It’s always difficult. I’m not supporting referees showing eight, nine, 10 yellow cards every game. In my opinion, the referee did a great job today.”
Jose Mourinho was not quite so complimentary of Mike Dean as he made few calls in Chelsea FC’s favor when he should have. Mourinho said, “If you remember our two matches against Southampton: in one game, one penalty that is not a penalty and in another game a penalty that was not given. You are speaking about six points transformed into two points.”
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He continued and said, “My opinion is not important. Important is Mr Mike Dean (the referee). His decision was a penalty and his decision was no penalty on Ivanovic.”
Chelsea FC is six points clear of Manchester City after the draw today but had the decisions in both matches been made correctly they could be 10 points clear. Some people call Jose Mourinho crazy for his comments about the campaign against Chelsea FC but all they have to do is watch the Blues play in the Premier League and they will see how clear it is that there is something not quite right about the decisions in every match.
Next: Takeaways From Southampton's Trip To Stamford Bridge