JOSE MOURINHO DELIVERED a clear sign he was fuming about the decision that cost Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois a red card and handed Swansea the chance to secure a 2-2 draw from the penalty spot on Saturday.
The Blues manager refused to comment on the incident that saw Courtois challenge Bafetimbi Gomis on the edge of his penalty area in the 52nd minute at Stamford Bridge.
The striker went to ground, prompting referee Michael Oliver to send off Courtois and point to the spot after the foul was committed inside the area and had denied a goalscoring opportunity.
Gomis converted the penalty that allowed Swansea to equalise for the second time and ultimately denied Chelsea the opportunity to kick-start their defence of their Premier League title with a victory.
Mourinho remonstrated angrily when the decision was made, but after the game his silence spoke volumes as the manager made it clear he was reluctant to go public with his feelings about the incident.
Asked about the decision, the manager said: “First game of the season, I don’t want to start in the first game”
Mourinho confirmed he had seen a replay of the incident and insisted he attached no blame to Courtois.
The manager has repeatedly fallen foul of the FA after publicly criticising match officials.
Earlier this year he was fined £25,000 (35,328 euros; $38,741) for comments he made following his side’s visit to Southampton when he complained of a “campaign” to influence decisions against his team.
Mourinho’s unwillingness to discuss Oliver’s performance suggested he might have started the new season with a resolution to keep his opinions about refereeing decisions to himself.
But the Portuguese denied this and said: “No, it is just because the first time I can control myself.
“I want to react this way so you don’t see he was (complaining) from day one. In day one we were punished, but it was not on day one that I opened my mouth.”
Chelsea’s failure to see out a game they had twice led inevitably throws focus on the development of the squad since last May when they won the title by eight points.
Oscar put them ahead in the 23rd minute and an own-goal by Swansea defender Federico Fernandez restored the lead after Andre Ayew had equalised for the visitors.
So far only keeper Asmir Begovic and striker Radamel Falcao have come into the club as direct replacements for Petr Cech and Didier Drogba.
The manager was last week forced to defend the club’s approach which stands in contrast to the approach of Manchester City and Manchester United who have invested heavily in their squads.
And while this result is unlikely to force a late change of policy in the final weeks of the transfer window, criticism is sure to mount if Chelsea suffer many more disappointments.
“You know me and I think you don’t expect me after a bad result to come here and speak about the squad, the players, the transfer window and investments of other team so on, so,” said Mourinho.
“The players know one point is one point, playing with 10 men for such a long time is much more difficult and fundamentally I am happy with the quality they had in the first half and I am happy with their spirit in the second half so we are in peace. We are not happy with the result.”
Swansea manager Garry Monk believes the way Ayew took his goal offers a sign of things to come from the Ghana midfielder.
“I think he has come in and been incredible. He worked extremely hard with the group and the group have worked hard with him to make him settled,” said Monk.
“And it’s always good when you are in as a new player, in a new league, even though you have obvious qualities, to get that first goal. It will give him great confidence.”
Katie has it all. Passion for the sport, amazing skill and loyalty to those who helped get her to the top. It’s admirable. You’re the best Katie!!!!
Don’t forget the God bothering.
Um, what? Pele, Maradona or even Zidane would like a word…. and Thierry Henri brought all that contempt upon his own head by demonstrably and publicly cheating, while wearing the colours of his nation, then treating such contempt as naïveté. Even French sports fans were unhappy with his conduct. It was disgraceful then, and remains disgraceful now. Why do you think his endorsements dried up? Now he will play out his career playing for New York. Sad.
shes religious, so what? people have a right to their beliefs as long as they dont force it on others, im not religious but i dont have the right to attack somebody elses religon or force my own views on them where theres no harm!
I should add that I am not against Katie talking about how god helped her, I think it’s great that she has such faith and it’s what gets her through. What I am against is people like mairead trolling this site and trying to force religion down peoples throats!
Oh and on a note actually related to this headline here’s hoping that Zaur stays with the Irish boxers because by all accounts they owe much of their success to him!
Agree 100% with that. I think mairead us just looking for a reaction to be honest
I would be worried about Katie Taylor turning professional, will she still have her dad at her side? & can she still wear the helmet? Or will she be beaten to a pulp? What protection is there in professional boxing?
ah will ye cop on….whatever she does she is a national hero…fair play to her,,,
That was a fair point Cian, where is the need to cop on with her comment? I agree Susan I’d worry that we’d run away with the wins so far, small timely dedicated steps needed to continue her success.
The only protective gear carried to pro boxing is the mouthpiece, as far as I know. But a big difference between the two levels is that while Am-boxing has one worldwide governing body, pro-boxing does not and the rules can therefore differ from organisation to organisation. As regards being beaten up, there is definitely a different emphasis on impact boxing in the pro level. In amatuer, points are given on technique and landing a hit – the actual force involved is irrelevant. At pro level, more points are awarded for the impact a blow has (eg, a knockout or knockdown), and the ref really only intervenes for actual fouls (not technique issues). A lot of boxers have a hard time of it when they first move up to pro.
@ryan… she is a boxer not a professional tiddlywinks player of course she will be hurt hence my comment to “cop on”
Monsieur Troll DuVal you speak for yourself & not France !
Bravo Katie :-)
Andrezj why exactly are you in Ireland if Poland is so great??
We should reward the coaches in boxing with good new contracts. We usually only reward failure on this country, why not reward success for a change.
Katie Taylor is a sporting hero and someone young people can look up too & aspire to be? Why do her religious beliefs have to come into it? That’s her business
She brings them into it. Every time she’s on camera she’s talking about god.. the magic man in the sky who miraculously gives her the adrenaline needed to throw her punches.. nothing at all to do with the spinach and carrots.
Every major nation in the world competes in boxing, what a misinformed stupid comment.
Ah Mairead give it a rest
Contact sports are not violent.
Come on Journal.ie! Why don’t you just block these stupid trolls?
Great tribute video montage to Katie Taylor. https://vimeo.com/47361394
Lots of people die in sports not just boxing.
Tell that to the thousands of brain-damaged amateur and professional boxers, or pray for those that died in the ring! Please don’t be ignorant.
Seriously mairead?! Jesus you’d put anybody off going to church!! Save the bible bashing for people who care. We’re all sick of your nonsensical rants at this stage!