VICTOR WAS TIRED, SAYS CONTE

ANTONIO CONTE attempted to defend Victor Moses by claiming his FA Cup final dive may have been down to fatigue. After being booked for a foul on Danny Welbeck, Moses was sent off in the 68th minute after being shown his second yellow of the game. In a bid to con referee Antony Taylor into awarding a penalty, he fell in the box after a challenge from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Conte said: ‘I don’t think if my players dive it is with the real intention to do this. Sometimes I think it could be tiredness. We are at the end of the season and a lot of players are tired and then there is a lot of pressure. ‘For sure, it is not a good situation to dive, it is true but Moses is an honest player and if there was this situation he was tired and didn’t want to cheat the referee.’ On the eve of his wedding, he became the fifth player to be sent off in the FA Cup final, following Kevin Moran (1985, Manchester United), Jose Antonio Reyes (2005, Arsenal), Pablo Zabaleta (2013, Manchester City) and Chris Smalling (2016, Manchester United). Moses looked utterly dejected as he left Wembley with the hood of his training top pulled over his head. John Terry said: ‘He is naturally down, and the poor fella has his wedding as well, but he’s been excellent all season, so no one’s to blame. ‘He’s come back to the club because year after year he’s been sent away by managers. This manager has showed big faith in him this year and he’s been excellent so it’s important to pick him up.’