The Chelsea manager is frustrated by the
Brazilian's sending-off against Bayern Munich,
arguing that "the best team lost" but would
not have done with an English referee
By Liam Twomey in Prague
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accused
referee Jonas Eriksson of "killing the final"
when he showed Ramires a second yellow card
in his side's penalty shootout defeat to Bayern
Munich in the Super Cup.
The Brazilian midfielder was shown red in the
85th minute for a foul on Mario Gotze and Pep
Guardiola’s side promptly came back to force
extra time and later triumph.
While the Blues boss accepts that the challenge
may have warranted a booking, he argues that
to do so on such a big occasion ruined the
spectacle.
"You will never, on the pitch or on the bench
or competing at this level, you don't feel the
way we feel," Mourinho told the press.
"The people that live on football, the people
whose life is football, we always feel there is a
very important rule - that is the passion for
football. If you are in love with football, you
don’t kill a final like this. You don't kill a final.
"There were many other yellow cards during
the match that the referee should give. With a
good English referee, he stops the game and
tells Ramires: 'You didn't hurt anyone but you
could have', tells the Bayern players: 'Don't
dive and don't try to provoke players', it would
be 11 v 11.
"If you ask me in pure terms, yes, it was a
yellow card, but you never do this in every
action of the game in this way."
The Portuguese implied that there was a
correlation between the red cards frequently
shown to his players whenever he faces
Guardiola, lamenting that "the best team lost".
"It's nothing new for me because I was at
Chelsea and I played two or three times with
10 men against Barcelona," he observed. "I
went to Inter and played with 10 men for an
hour against Barcelona. I go to Real Madrid, I
played again a Champions League semi-final
with 10 men. I go back to Chelsea and I played
a Super Cup final again with 10 men. Analyse
the actions and make your conclusions.
"I'm disappointed because, in my opinion –
and it's just my opinion, which I can have
without being punished – is the best team lost.
"The team that deserves to win more lost but
that's football. Sometimes it happens. The best
team doesn't always win. Football is 11 against
11. 11 against 10 is, of course, easier for the
team with 11 and the team with 10.
"I have a fantastic experience with playing with
10 men in Uefa matches. My players gave
absolutely everything. When [Eden] Hazard
scored there were still 27 minutes to play and
playing with 10 men is an eternity. I just
thought: 'Let's go.' I never thought the
situation was over. When [Javi] Martinez scored
the goal I felt it was undeserved but that’s
football. No problem."
0 100000:
Post a Comment