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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho SLAMS scandalous refereeing after dropped points at St Mary's
CHELSEA boss Jose Mourinho has labelled the booking handed out to Cesc Fabregas for a supposed dive against Southampton a "scandal".
Cesc Fabregas was adjudged to have dived in Southampton's penalty box
Sadio Mane and Eden Hazard scored in an entertaining, hard-fought 1-1 draw at St Mary's on Sunday, but afterwards the Blues manager's only focus was only on what he believes is a growing movement against his side.
Chelsea have found themselves at the heart of the simulation debate in recent weeks, with Diego Costa and Willian booked for supposedly taking a tumble in the win against Hull - after which Steve Bruce compared a Gary Cahill dive as "like something out of Swan Lake".
The west Londoners came under scrutiny again on Boxing Day when Branislav Ivanovic appeared to take a tumble against West Ham - the kind of incident Mourinho believes is being wrongly hammed-up and denied his side three points at St Mary's.
Fabregas looked to have won a penalty early in the second half after being caught by Saints teenager Matt Targett, yet referee Anthony Taylor instead deemed it a dive and booked the infuriated Spanish midfielder.
Newspaper Review - Sunday 28 December
I think it is a scandal because it is not a small penalty - it is a penalty like Big Ben
"In other countries where I worked before, tomorrow in the sports papers it would be a front-page scandal because it is a scandal," Mourinho said of the yellow card.
"I think it is a scandal because it is not a small penalty - it is a penalty like Big Ben.
"In this country - and I am happy with that, more than happy with that - we will just say that it was a big mistake with a big influence in the result.
"I am happy that it is this way, with respect for the referee. He made a big mistake like I make, like the players make sometimes."
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