Perhaps referee Chris Foy shouldn’t referee Chelsea matches anymore.
That was the proposal set forth by Blues manager Jose Mourinho after a number of decisions went against his side in their 1-0 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday.
The match saw Foy red card two Chelsea players, Willian and Ramires, and send Mourinho to the stands late in the match. Willian was shown two yellow cards, the second of which came in the 68th minute after a nudge from behind that many felt fell short of yellow card requirements. Less controversially, Ramires was issued a straight red after he fell studs down on Karim El Ahmadi following a sliding challenge by the Villa midfielder.
The Ramires incident sparked furor on the sideline and Foy showed Mourinho to the stands after the manager entered the pitch along with others to diffuse the situation.
“Maybe it’s helpful that the [Premier League referees’] committee doesn’t send him [Foy] to our matches,” Mourinho said.
“I don’t have the right to request [that]. It’s just I think they have to analyze the situation and see if every time he has Chelsea — or not every time — but many times he has Chelsea and problems are there, I think maybe it would be a good decision.”
Mourinho went on to note that his players had issues with Foy’s appointment when it was announced last week. “The players were speaking about it during the week. They have a reason.” The reason, although not noted, was believed to be the 2011 defeat at QPR when controversially sent off Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba. Mourinho was not the manager at that time.
The Chelsea boss continued: “I never care who the ref is. I don’t want to know. But during the week the players were speaking about the situation and I think from now on the next time we have Mr Foy I have to work my people in a different way.”
It remains to be seen if Mourinho will be penalized for his actions on or off the pitch on Saturday. Rule E3 requires managers not to leave their technical area and says that if a breach has occurred, that manager can be fined between $13,300 and $19,951 depending on the severity. Two match touchline bans can also be handed out for language deemed abusive to referees.
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