Month: October 2015

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho attempted to blame his lack of English language skills for the statement that led the Football Association to fine him £50,000 and give him a one match suspended sentence, with the FA dismissing the notion.

Mourinho was incensed that Robert Madley had not given his side a penalty during the Blues’ game against Southampton before the international break. Radamel Falcao went down under a challenge from the Saints goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, but Madley correctly waved away his appeal as it looked as though he was already falling over before he was touched by the ‘keeper.

The Chelsea boss gave an astonishing seven minute interview to Sky Sports after the match, however, in which he suggested that referees were ‘afraid’ to give his side any penalties. The rant earned him the disapproval of the FA who felt that Mourinho’s words suggested he was implying that the officials were biased; an accusation the Football Association has always made clear that they will clamp down on.

The Portuguese manager described the £50,000 fine the FA have given him as ‘a disgrace’ and called the one match suspended sentence ‘astonishing’. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ admitted improper conduct during a hearing about the mater, but he denied questioning the integrity of the match referee Robert Madley.

By way of mitigation for his behaviour Jose Mourinho claimed that his English isn’t very good and that there was a touch of miscommunication during the interview. The Football Association have dismissed that notion, however, saying that the manager’s English is ‘too sophisticated’ for it to be an excuse.

As well as suggesting his English language skills may not be up to scratch the Chelsea manager also felt aggrieved about the fact that other managers seem to be allowed to get away with similarly inflammatory comments. Though he didn’t mention Arsene Wenger by name, Mourinho did question why the Arsenal manager wasn’t picked up on his use of the words ‘weak’ and ‘naive’ to describe the referee Mike Dean after the London derby last month.

The Portuguese maestro also attempted to suggest that his post-match comments were made a moment when tensions were running high, but the FA panel was far from convinced. They said, “Mr Mourinho is an experienced manager and an experienced interviewee. This was not some spur-of-the-moment unguarded outburst. These were quite lengthy comments, delivered calmly and in a controlled way”.

The FA’s panel also felt that the fine they issued Mourinho was justified as previous sanctions have not stopped an escalation in his behaviour. They said, “The more than doubling of the January 2015 fine as compared with the May 2014 fine has not deterred him from this latest and more serious breach. The fair way to impose this deterrent is to suspend the ban so that Mr Mourinho is able quite easily to avoid its ever coming into effect. The matter is in his hands”.

Jose Mourinho has said that he believes his job will be safe even if Chelsea finish in a mid-table position at the the end of this season. The Portuguese manager signed a new four year contract during the summer to extend his second spell in charge of the London club until 2019.

The defending Premier League champions have endured a torrid start to the season, though, winning just three of their first nine games. The have lost four of their matches, with two of those defeats coming at Stamford Bridge – a place that has previously been a fortress during Mourinho’s reign.

Before the victory over Aston Villa the Blues had endured their worst top flight start since 1978-1979, when a win was only worth two points. In spite of their victory over the Midlands team – who have also suffered a poor start to their season – Chelsea are in 12th position in the league table because of Stoke’s win over Swansea on Monday night.

Mourinho, though, is not worried about his place in the managerial hot-seat, even if his team fails to climb out of their mid-table position before the end of the season. Asked whether he would still be in charge next season if Chelsea don’t make the top four he said, “Yes. I was not told that because we don’t expect to finish mid-table”.

The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ was offered support from the Chelsea board recently and he said he wasn’t too bothered by it, claiming the club’s official statement was ‘to close your mouth’, in reference to the media. He continued, “For me the important thing is the owner and the board’s message to myself. Before the statement came out, I was having the feedback from the owner and the board. So the statement was not something new for me. I met the owner before dinner so, when I went to dinner, I knew. But even before that, I knew what brought me here. I know the conversation we had two years ago. I know what made me sign a new contract, and the reasons why the owner and the board decided to give me a new contract. They didn’t have to. I had still two more years, so they didn’t have to give me a new contract. After a bad result – which is not the first bad result of the season, obviously I was not happy, far from it. But I never thought about being sacked”.

Mourinho’s confidence could be slightly misplaced, though, with Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich having not been shy about pulling the trigger on under-performing managers in the past. Claudio Ranieri was sacked in 2004 after the Blues finished second, Mourinho himself was released in 2007 for the same thing, Nvram Grant only took Chelsea to second place in 2008 and was sacked, Luiz Felipe Scolari didn’t even complete the season as Blues boss when he was sacked as things didn’t seem to be going well and his replacement, Guus Hiidink wasn’t asked to stay on when he could only guide the club to third. Carlo Ancelotti was sacked for finishing second in 2011 and Andre Villas-Boas was given his marching orders before the end of the season in 2012, as was Roberto Di Matteo despite the Italian winning the Champion’s League. Rafa Benitez took the club to third and won the Europa League but found that his title of ‘interim manager’ was never extended.

Jose Mourinho may feel that he’ll be safe as manager regardless of Chelsea’s final league position this season, but his own history as well as that of the other Chelsea managers during the Abramovich era tells a somewhat different story.

Jose Mourinho has risked incurring the wrath of the Football Association after describing their decision to fine him a ‘disgrace’. The FA announced on Wednesday that the Chelsea manager would receive a suspended one match stadium ban as well as a £50,000 fine for comments he made in the wake of his team’s defeat to Southampton in the match before the international break.

The defending Premier League champions took the lead thanks to a Willian free kick before goals from Steven Davis, Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle saw the away team leave with all three points. Mourinho, though, was unhappy that the match referee, Robert Madley, refused to give Chelsea a spot kick when Radamel Falcao went over in the box after a challenge from Southampton’s goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. It appeared that Falcao was already going down before the ‘keeper touched him, leading many pundits to feel the referee had made the right decision.

However Mourinho gave an astonishing seven minute interview to Sky after the game in which he claimed that referees were ‘afraid’ to give decisions in favour of Chelsea. He said, “He was afraid to give it like everyone else is afraid to give it. Why? Because there is always a question mark from [the media] and always a critic so we are always punished. The penalty in this game is more than crucial because my team, at the moment, the first negative thing that happens… they collapse. After that the team lost even more confidence. Mentally, psychologically, the team is unbelievably down”.

Southampton’s manager, Ronald Koeman, felt that Mourinho was silly to draw attention to the referee’s refusal to give his team a penalty as the Saints also had a couple of shouts for a spot kick themselves. Branislav Ivanovic appeared to drag Virgil Van Dijk to the floor when both players were trying to get on the end of a corner, then Ramires tripped Mane in the penalty area a few moments later. Mane was also booked for simulation not long after, despite the fact that Ivanovic appeared to sweep his leg out from under him.

During his rant to Sky Sports Mourinho said, “If the Football Association wants to punish me they can. They don’t punish other managers”. It appears that the FA’s decision to take him up on his offer hasn’t gone down too well with the man himself. He said on Thursday, “I’m happy I don’t have an electronic tag. £50,000 is a disgrace. The possibility of getting a stadium ban is astonishing”.

The Blues’ manager also appeared to have another dig at Arsene Wenger, even though he didn’t mention him by name. The Arsenal manager claimed that Mike Dean was ‘weak’ and ‘naive’ after the referee fell for Diego Costa’s tricks during the fiery London derby last month. Mourinho said yesterday, “Afraid costs £50,000. Weak and naive – you can do it”. He also made reference to the fact that Wenger received no punishment for pushing Mourinho in the technical area during a match at Stamford Bridge in 2014, saying, “We can push people in the technical area. We can, no problem”.

Mourinho, speaking to the BBC’s Dan Walker for an interview with Football Focus due to be shown tomorrow, reiterated his thought that the Football Association treated him differently to other manager. He said, “You should analyse what’s happening with me, compare it with other managers. Do you think a word is comparable with a push in the eyes of everyone?
“I can’t say anything because the next time I speak, seriously a stadium ban, then after an electronic tag”.

This is not Mourinho’s first run in with the FA this season. In September he was cleared by the Football Association of making discriminatory remarks against the former Chelsea club doctor Eva Carneiro during the Blues’ opening game of the season against Swansea City. It is also not the first time he has suggested that referees working against Chelsea. Last year he claimed that there was a ‘campaign’ to influence the officials in their decisions during his team’s matches.

This is also not the first fine he has had imposed upon him by the Football Association. Over the duration of his two terms in charge of the London club he has been fined seven times for an amount totalling £181,000.

Despite his club’s tough start to the season in which they have won just two games, drawing two and losing four – with two of their losses coming at home – Mourinho insists he will not quit Stamford Bridge unless he loses the backing of the players. John Terry claimed last week that the players are still very much behind him, even though the London Evening Standard claimed this week that the manager is struggling to stay in control of the dressing room, with numerous players becoming disillusioned with the way in which he’s running the club.

The manager told Dan Walker that the newspaper’s claims are a ‘disgrace’. He said, “What they write is an absolute disgrace. I don’t need to repeat what the players are saying over the international break, they don’t have the obligation to say this. I’d say every player had the chance to go to the press with their national team, but they think about Chelsea, their manager – and I think it’s a disgrace the lengths people go to disturb people working”.

It seems unlikely that the FA will punish Mourinho further for his comments about their decision to fine him and threaten him with a one match stadium ban if he repeated the action. English football’s governing body are not as concerned about criticism of themselves as they are about questions regarding individual match officials’ integrity. Their original decision to punish Mourinho came about because they felt his comments implied ‘bias on the part of a match official’.

Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with both team’s managers under pressure. If Mourinho were to make another comment about the referee after the match he could find himself in serious pressure with the FA, whilst if his team fails to pick up all three points he could be in even more trouble with Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich.

The Football Association have given Jose Mourinho a one match suspended stadium ban and have fined him £50,000 for comments he made about match officials in the wake of Chelsea’s loss to Southampton at Stamford Bridge.

In an astonishing rant to Sky Sports in the aftermath of the 3-1 home loss to Ronald Koeman’s side Mourinho said that referees are ‘afraid’ to give decisions to Chelsea and that the defending Premier League champions were ‘always punished’ because the media leave a ‘question mark’ about them.

The Portuguese manager was upset by referee Robert Madley’s decision not to give his team a penalty when Radamel Falcao was brought down inside the area, despite the fact that Falcao appeared to be going over before he was touched by the onrushing Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Mourinho said, “It was a big penalty for us. Not small, not doubtful. Big. Huge. That was a penalty. We don’t get decisions and I think referees are afraid to give decisions to us. When we are top I understand everyone wants to push you down, but when you are down give us a break”.

Mourinho’s complaint also seemed to ignore the fact that Saints were denied two penalties themselves by Madley, leading Koeman to say in response to his counterpart’s complaints, “In that case it should have finished 2-5”.

Chelsea took the lead early in the match thanks to Willian’s free kick – his third goal direct from a free kick in as many games – before Steven Davis struck an equaliser and Sadio Mane put the Saints in the lead. Graziano Pelle scored an angled finish to guarantee Southampton the win, leaving Chelsea in 16th place in the league table.

Southampton’s two penalty shouts both came in the first half. The initial one came about when Branislav Ivanovic appeared to drag Virgil Van Dijk to the ground whilst defending a set piece. The second solid shout came when Ramires stood on Sadio Mane’s boot in the box, bringing him to the floor. Moments later the referee incorrectly booked Mane for simulation when Ivanovic appeared to swipe his legs away as the forward was on the attack.

The Football Association’s decision to charge the Portuguese manager is based on the notion that his comments ‘imply bias on the part of a match official’. The £50,000 will be payable immediately, but the suspended nature of his stadium ban means that it will only be enforced if he commits the same offence within a year.

Mourinho likely genuinely believes that his team is suffering from refereeing decisions, but he has also been known in the past to distract from his team’s poor performances by shifting the story somewhere else. Given that the loss to Southampton was Chelsea’s fourth loss of the season and their second loss at Stamford Bridge, meaning it’s possible he’s trying the same thing again.

The defending Premier League champion’s next game is against Aston Villa this weekend, with both managers being under extreme pressure given their respective team’s performances so far this season. Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa team sit in 18th position with just four points to their name, whilst Mourinho’s men have only amassed eight points after eight games, with two wins, two draws and two losses.

Speaking to Sky after the loss Mourinho said of the FA, “If the Football Association wants to punish me they can. They don’t punish other managers”. It seems as though the FA have chosen to take him up on his offer. A Chelsea spokesperson, speaking to the BBC, said that the club wanted to read the FA’s full reasoning before they would make any comment on their verdict and decision to punish the Chelsea manager.

Jose Mourinho has received support from Chelsea defender Gary Cahill in the wake of the club’s terrible start to their Premier League campaign.

The Blues have won just two of their opening eight games of the season, losing four and drawing the remaining two. It is the defending Premier League champion’s worst start to a top flight campaign since the 1978 – 1979 season, when a win was worth just two points.

The poor start led Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, and the board issuing a statement of support for the Portuguese manager; a statement that Mourinho said he was ‘grateful’ for.

Now Cahill, away on international duty for England, has said that Mourinho also has the backing of the Chelsea squad. He told BBC Radio 5live, “We are all around him. Dare I say he doesn’t even need backing when you have done so much in the game, not just at Chelsea but in other leagues too. It is obviously nice to have that and he certainly has it from the players and the club”.

Cahill was also honest about his own part in the poor start to the season, saying, “The Southampton game for me personally was a real low. I have come away here [on international duty] totally determined to make it right when I get back”.

Chelsea’s campaign will resume after the international break with a game against 18th placed Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. A game that would normally be considered to be routine has suddenly become a ‘must win’ for Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea team.

The Football Association has fined both Chelsea and Arsenal Football Clubs over failing to control their players in the recent London derby.

Tempers flared during an excitable game at Stamford Bridge on the 19th of September; a game in which two Arsenal players were sent off. Gabriel was sent off for an incident with Diego Costa, though his red card was later overturned, and Santi Cazorla was sent off after 79 minutes when he fouled Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas.

The incident between Costa and Gabriel led to players from both teams becoming involved in a fracas on the edge of half time, with Costa having since been banned for three games for elbowing Laurent Koscielny in the face.

Gabriel became involved with Costa after the incident, with both players being issued with a yellow card. Costa then provoked Gabriel into a reaction of kicking out, meaning he was issued with a straight red by the referee Mike Dean.

Although the Arsenal defender’s red card was overturned he was still given a one match ban and fined £10,000. Chelsea have been fined £40,000 and Arsenal £30,000 for failing to control their players during the fiery London derby.

Jose Mourinho has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his comments in the aftermath of Chelsea’s game against Southampton on Saturday.

Mourinho felt his team was treated unfairly by the referee in the game and said, “…clearly the referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea” during a seven minute rant in his post match interview.

He went on to say, “if the FA wants to punish me, they can punish me. They don’t punish other managers, they punish me, but it’s not a problem for me. I want to repeat because I think my players deserve it, Chelsea fans deserve it, I am a Chelsea fan too, and I want to say it again: referees are afraid to giving decisions to Chelsea. Why? Because when they give, there is always a question mark from you [the media]. There is always a question, there is always a critic, so we are always punished. We are punished because Diego Costa is suspended with images. In other matches we see the same thing and that doesn’t happen. Clear penalties are not given and with us it’s one and one and one and one…”.

The FA have decided that Mourinho’s comments “imply bias on the part of a match official” and have therefore chosen to charge him. The loss to Southampton at Stamford Bridge leaves Chelsea closer to the relegation zone than to the top of the table, given that they are four points above the former and ten points away from Manchester City at the top of the league.

Mourinho’s outburst included reference to people inside the club who must ‘accept their responsibility’. He said, “I think this is a moment for everybody to assume responsibilities. I assume my responsibilities, I think the players should assume their responsibilities, there are other people in the club who should also assume their responsibilities, and to stick together. This is what I want”.

His comment led the club to issue a statement offering him their support but made it clear that they consider they have lived up to their responsibilities. The club statement said, “As Jose has said himself, results have not been good enough and the team’s performances must improve. However, we believe that we have the right manager to turn this season around and that he has the squad with which to do it”.

Mourinho has until 18:00 hours on the 8th of October to respond to the FA’s charge.