The Everton manager feels as though Chelsea players helped to get Gareth Barry sent off when they played each other…
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has accused Chelsea players of trying to influence referees in the Premier League and believes that pressure cost his side when they played at Stamford Bridge, as reported in the Daily Mail.
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Martinez wrote in his programme notes for the Leicester match that he was bitterly disappointed at the way the ill-tempered game was settled, with Gareth Barry sent off and Chelsea sealing the win with a last minute Willian goal.
The former Wigan and Swansea player and manager believes the referee Jon Moss was constantly pressured throughout the game, by Chelsea players, and he has taken Jose Mourinho to task on it.
He wrote, “Unfortunately, the sending off really late on reflected the emphasis that the home team had in trying to influence the referee and take advantage of their role of playing at Stamford Bridge.
“Mo Besic being booked after five minutes was a very loose way to referee a game and there was no need to show as many yellow cards as there were.”
Martinez, who is now fighting for Premier League points as his side have widely underperformed this season, was clearly angry at what had gone on during the Chelsea game, adding. “But, more importantly, I never felt there was any consistency in judging every action equally between the two teams.
“That made it a tougher way to digest a defeat that we didn’t deserve and showed a very similar ending to last season’s game at Stamford Bridge.
“Big games need strong referees but, for the future, we relish the challenge of finding the way of overcoming these disadvantages by playing our football.”
Everton currently sit 12th in the Premier League, but are only five points above the relegation zone with around a third of the campaign still to play, and the distraction of the latter stages of the Europa League.