Mourinho vents anger at perceived unfair treatment

A frustrated Jose Mourinho used a television appearance on Sunday to again bemoan a series of decisions he feels have gone against Chelsea.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has once again alluded to perceived unfair treatment of his side, suggesting decisions are going against them “week after week”.

Mourinho was fined by the Football Association last month and warned about his future conduct after claiming there was a “campaign” against Chelsea.

The Portuguese has frequently expressed unhappiness with referees this season and was angered by a number of incidents in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Burnley on Saturday, a result that allowed Manchester City to close the gap on leaders Chelsea to five points.

Chelsea saw two strong penalty shouts turned down in that match, while Ashley Barnes escaped sanctions for challenges on Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic that Mourinho believed were worthy of red cards, with the latter tackle prompting a furious reaction from Matic that saw the Serbian dismissed.

In an appearance on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday programme, Mourinho made his frustration clear, while acknowledging he may yet face further FA punishment for speaking his mind.

“I am not attacking the honesty, the dignity of anyone. I am not trying to – and in this country you love this sentence – ‘bring the game into disrepute.’ I am trying to be honest,” said the Chelsea boss.

“I am risking my place in the dugout for the [League Cup] final by having this discussion. I cannot go too far.

“But the reality is that week after week we are having these decisions [against us]. Football is football, but I think it is too much. I think my players don’t deserve that. Yesterday [Saturday] I was calm in the press conference but my players are not getting the respect they deserve.”

Mourinho went on to suggest Chelsea’s advantage at the top of the Premier League should be greater, highlighting a host of matches in which he felt his team have been wrongly penalised and claiming only one significant decision – which saw Liverpool denied a penalty in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in November – had gone against the leaders.

“If we are in a normal situation, in this moment it [Chelsea’s lead] would not be five, it would be 12,” he added.

“It’s not in my eyes – it’s in the eyes of everyone.

“The Diego Costa penalty story started on day one of the season. He should have had a penalty against Burnley in the first game of the season and he got booked for a dive. We have this history since day one. I remember one decision all season that went our way and that was a doubtful one.”

Addressing the controversy that surrounded Chelsea’s draw with Burnley, Mourinho added: “The challenge from Ashley Barnes on Nemanja Matic can be the end of a career. I cannot find an adjective to describe it. It is end of career.

“Nemanja Matic is a very lucky guy. Another club would have the power to appeal Matic’s red card.

“When I finished the game against Liverpool [the second leg of Chelsea’s League Cup semi-final] I went to the dressing room and I was reading non-stop about Diego Costa’s crimes. I would like to know how do you, Sky Sports, describe the actions of a Burnley player yesterday? I don’t find a word to describe.

“Football is about emotions and clearly Nemanja Matic had a reason to lose his emotions. What are the consequences of his push, nothing. The consequence for Matic from the tackle? It could be the end of his career. A criminal tackle.

“I said clearly that at half-time Burnley should be playing with 10 men and Chelsea should have had two penalties, normally we would win 3-0. The reality is in the end we have 10 men and we lost two points.”