Mourinho compares ‘weak’ ref with Joubert
CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho has described a Champions League referee as ‘‘weak and naive,’’ and compared him with beleaguered rugby official Craig Joubert.
Mourinho made his comments to British television channel BT Sport yesterday after Slovenian referee Damir Skomina failed to award a penalty to his team during Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev.
The Portuguese coach was last week fined £50,000 and handed a suspended one-match stadium ban by the English Football Association for criticising a Premier League referee for not awarding a penalty during Chelsea’s 3-1 loss to Southampton earlier this month.
Mourinho tempered his criticism of Skomina, saying that the official’s refereeing was ‘‘very good’’ apart from the penalty incident. He compared Skomina to South African rugby referee Joubert, who has been widely criticised for his decision to award a penalty that cost Scotland victory over Australia in a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal last week.
‘‘I think [Skomina] made one mistake and, for example in the Rugby World Cup, I think the referee in the Scotland game was very good, but he made one mistake and because of that mistake Scotland is crying,’’ Mourinho said.
Arsenal,
meanwhile,
remain
Arsene Wenger’s men delivered at the Emirates Stadium, ending Bayern’s run of 12 straight wins with second-half goals from France striker Olivier Giroud and Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil.
Giroud’s goal in the the 77th minute was controversial as it appeared to come off his arm after first hitting his head, all of which came after Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer rushed off his line and failed to claim a free-kick from Santi Cazorla.
‘‘They dominated the game, but we knew that and we were able to finish it off,’’ Giroud said. ‘‘We needed this win to stay in the Champions League and to try and qualify for the next stage. We have to thank Petr Cech too, he had a fantastic game.’’
Although there were no goals before the break, both teams produced football of the highest quality.
The pace never relented from the kickoff, which some 300 Bayern fans missed as they staged a "stay-away" for the first five minutes to protest over the cost of a ticket for the match, but when they took their seats, applause rang around the stadium from both home and visiting fans.
Defending champion Barcelona remained in control of top spot in Group E as Ivan Rakitic scored both goals in a 2-0 win at BATE Borisov, while Roma came back from a 2-0 deficit in a 4-4 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in a topsy-turvy game.