MOURINHO BLAST AT REFEREE
JOSE MOURINHO last night branded referee Damir Skomina ‘weak and naive’ after he opted not to award Chelsea a penalty in their 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev. Mourinho’s comments appeared to be a thinlyveiled reference to what Arsene Wenger called Mike Dean after his Arsenal side lost to Chelsea in a heated affair last month. Wenger escaped FA punishment before Mourinho was then fined by the governing body for comments made about referee Bobby Madeley. But, after watching his side gain a valuable point in Ukraine’s Olympic Stadium last night, the Chelsea boss was angered by referee Skomina’s decision not to award a penalty after Cesc Fabregas looked to have been brought down by Kiev’s Serhiy Rybalka. ‘The referee was weak and naïve — it was a big decision not to award the penalty,’ said Mourinho. ‘When the result is 0-0, it is such a crucial moment in the game. ‘I never understand what the official behind the goal does. He doesn’t make any kind of decision. ‘But I am still happy with my team. We had a good defensive performance against a difficult opponent.’ This was never vintage stuff from Chelsea or Mourinho, but it was disciplined and calculated enough to earn a valuable point. Willian and Eden Hazard had the best opportunities for Chelsea during the first half, but neither could beat Kiev goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy. After all their recent shortcomings, this was much more like it from Mourinho and his men; the passing was good, the defending sturdy and the attacking was slick. Mourinho, though, knew the hosts would have to muster a response to appease the vast majority of the 60,291 crowd. And although Dynamo did threaten briefly, the Chelsea boss was not about to let a valuable point slip. They might not be back to their best, but this was a positive night for Chelsea. D KIEV (4-1-4-1): Shovkovskiy; da Silva, Khacheridi, Dragovic, Vida; Rybalka; Yarmolenko, Sydorchuk, Buyalsky (Garmash 83), Gonzalez; Kravets (Junior 78). Subs not used: Miguel Veloso, Antunes, Petrovic, Gusev, Rybka. Booked: Buyalsky. CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas (Oscar 75), Hazard; Diego Costa. Subs not used: Baba, Falcao, Mikel, Traore, Kenedy, Blackman. Booked: Zouma. Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia). Attendance: 60,291.