Chelsea FC’s 2014/2015 Season In Perspective: The Negatives

By CFC Unofficial (Debs) (Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsDisciplinary Issues

Francesc Fabregas has been issued 11 yellow cards in the EPL so far this season (with 2 bookings issued unfairly for alleged dives in the 18-yard box when he was actually fouled), same as Branislav Ivanovic (although 2 of his yellow cards caused him to be red-carded in the game against Man Utd at Old Trafford).

Matic has received 9 yellow cards and a red (due to his retaliation for a crunching tackle made on him by Barnes during the game against Burnley) and Diego Costa has 8 till date and was given a 3-match suspension for allegedly stamping on Emre Can intentionally in the League Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool. These players alone make up a combined 39 of the total 73 yellow cards the Blues have received this season, making them the 5th most booked team in the league so far this season.

According to the Daily Mail, a study conducted by the Football Association Fair Play delegates indicated that Chelsea FC are the worst behaved team in the EPL, alledging that they disrespect match officials by questioning every decision made against them while also rating Mourinho’s back-room staff as the second worst in the league. The study in question was made public not long after the incident against PSG where Ibrahimovic was sent off, with the press citing the crowding of the referee by the Chelsea players as the reason for the referee’s decision.

But taking a deeper look, most of the issues had a bearing to the sense of injustice felt by the players and staff of Chelsea following some really controversial decisions. As early as the first game of the season, Diego Costa was given a yellow card for allegedly diving to win a penalty when he was actually brought down by Burnley’s goalkeeper, Tom Heaton, who should have instead been issued a red card.

It set the tone for several wrong bookings received by Chelsea players, notably Fabregas’ against Southampton and Arsenal and Ivanovic against Man Utd. In all, the team had over 12 clear-cut penalties not awarded, with the most obvious ones occurring incidentally in the second leg against Burnley, a game that saw Matic sent off for retaliating a really bad tackle by Barnes (which the referee claimed to have seen, meaning that the player didn’t face retrospective action).

This led to Mourinho coming out in the press to talk about a conspiracy by the British press against Chelsea, comments that earned him 25,000 pounds fine by the F.A’s disciplinary committee.

Next: Defensive problems down the right