Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Mourinho hits back in diving row

LONDON — Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit back in the row over his players diving, after they found themselves at the heart of the simulation debate following several high-profile incidents during last weekend’s 2-0 win against Hull City.

Chelsea’s Diego Costa (left) and Willian received yellow cards for dives last weekend and the incidents have brought the topic of diving to the fore. Photo: Reuters

Chelsea’s Diego Costa (left) and Willian received yellow cards for dives last weekend and the incidents have brought the topic of diving to the fore. Photo: Reuters

LONDON — Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit back in the row over his players diving, after they found themselves at the heart of the simulation debate following several high-profile incidents during last weekend’s 2-0 win against Hull City.

Diego Costa and Willian both received yellow cards for dives at Stamford Bridge, where Hull City manager Steve Bruce said Gary Cahill had gone down “like something out of Swan Lake” in the penalty box.

Those incidents, along with a smattering of others, have brought the topic of diving to the fore, with former referee Mark Halsey suggesting the “only one real solution” is to have an independent panel review such decisions retrospectively.

However, Mourinho said that would be a terrible development.

“The independent panels don’t do their job well in any case,” he added.

“When you go to an independent panel to analyse and suspend players by video evidence, it is a disaster.

“I remember last season and I don’t want to say the names of clubs or players. You had players and clubs punished by panels and you had clubs and players protected by panels.

“I saw somebody kick a player on the floor and hit him on the back — (with) no suspension. I saw others (who did) minor things being suspended.

“Players are punished for silly comments on Facebook and Instagram — this kind of thing — and players are not punished for other things.

“You speak one week about one dive that, for me, was not even a dive; you don’t speak about Filipe Luis, who could at this moment be at the hospital having big surgery on his knee or in his leg.

“Independent panels are the same ones that last season analysed my situation against Aston Villa and I was punished and suspended because I had tried to help. So for me, panels favour only the ones who always have the favours.”

Ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Stoke on Monday, Mourinho repeatedly underlined the need for referee Neil Swarbrick to control the game.

“It’s no problem with a good referee who can understand what is aggressivity or when the aggression finishes, and start the rules of the game. No problem at all,” said Mourinho.

“We need a good referee, yes, I think we need a good, experienced referee who can understand exactly that.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.