Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has turned on Slovenian referee Damir Skomina after seeing his side come away with a goalless draw in a Champions League group stage game against Dynamo Kiev at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. Skomina waved away Chelsea’s appeals for a penalty midway through the first half when Cesc Fabregas was tripped inside the box by Dynamo midfielder Serhiy Rybalka.
In the Blues’ last game against Porto in Portugal, Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz similarly denied Chelsea a penalty after Ivan Marcano handled the ball inside the box in the dying stages, and following last night’s decision, Mourinho certainly felt hard done by, calling the referee “weak and naive.”
“The referee was weak and naive. A big penalty. I keep not understanding what the referee standing behind the goal does because [he] doesn’t make a clear decision,” said Mourinho after the game, even the assistants behind the goal not spared.
Mourinho drew comparisons with referee Craig Joubert from the Scotland vs Australia game in the Rugby World Cup where the Scots were on the wrong end of Joubert’s decision as they crashed out in the quarter-final stage. With the score at 0-0 yesterday, a Chelsea penalty would have altered the dynamics of the game altogether.
“I think the referee was very good – I’m serious – but he made one mistake. And, for example, in the Rugby World Cup, I think the referee [Craig Joubert] in the Scotland game was very good but made one mistake. And that mistake cost Scotland their chance. When the result is 0-0 and such a penalty is not given, it’s a crucial moment of the game,” Mourinho added.
With last night’s draw, Chelsea are third behind Dynamo Kiev and Porto in group G. With games against Porto and Dynamo at Stamford Bridge still to be played, Mourinho is upbeat over the Blues’ chances of qualifying through to the knock-out stages. A win last night, though, would have propelled Chelsea to second in the table ahead of Dynamo.
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