Luiz Felipe Scolari was seething today after captain John Terry was sent off in the 0-0 draw with Everton.Scolari's only reported reaction, according to Setanta TV's touchline reporter, was Scolari shouting, "Are you afraid? Are you afraid?" at referee Phil Dowd as the pair departed down the tunnel at half-time of the Premier League match at Goodison Park.
Terry now faces a three-match ban, which will rule him out of league matches against West Bromwich Albion and Fulham, and the FA Cup third-round game with League 1 side Southend on January 3.
Clearly, Scolari knew he risked Football Association sanctions of his own if he vented his anger publicly so he boycotted the compulsory post-match press conference.
"None of the Chelsea management is coming up to talk to you," Chelsea media chief Steve Atkins told waiting journalists.
"The Chelsea management have a number of issues with a number of the decisions during the game and they feel it is better not to say anything that gets them into trouble."
Chelsea's Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack were also booked for dissent as the Blues squandered a chance to leap above Premier League leader Liverpool in the standings.
But Everton manager David Moyes backed the referee, despite his side being denied a late winner when Steven Pienaar bundled the ball into the net.
The midfielder was adjudged to have been offside before stealing the ball out of goalkeeper Petr Cech's hands.
"My first reaction from the side was that it was reckless and I thought it was going to be close," Moyes said.
"In my day, I would have enjoyed a tackle like that but I don't think you are allowed it now. "And did he get the decision right leading up to the goal that we scored? Yes he did."
The stalemate saw Chelsea move to Liverpool - Everton's city rivals - and ended a run of 11 straight away league wins for the Blues.
Chelsea played 55 minutes of the match a man down after England skipper Terry received a straight red card from referee Dowd for a late and dangerous tackle on Everton midfielder Leon Osman.
But, despite the centre-half's expulsion 10 minutes before half-time, Everton - without a recognised striker because of injury - couldn't score.
Chelsea, who'd seen Liverpool drop points in a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal, were going for a Premier League record of 12 straight away wins against an Everton side that had won just once on home turf all season.
Injuries to Everton's strikers again saw manager David Moyes field Australia's Tim Cahill as the lone man up front after the midfielder had netted an an injury-time winner at Manchester City last week.
Chelsea made the brighter start, though, and defender Ashley Cole almost gave them a second-minute lead after breaking behind the Everton back four to fire a left-foot volley at goal.
But United States goalkeeper Tim Howard reacted well to push the shot behind for a corner. Moyes's team, who suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa in their last outing at Goodison Park, responded well and captain Phil Neville's 25-metre effort forced Cech into a fine save.
Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka once again keeping Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba on the bench, struggled to make any headway against the home side.
Their frustration spilled over in the 35th minute when Terry committed the foul that saw him sent off.
Terry was always up against it in his bid to beat Osman to the ball inside the Everton half and he mis-timed his tackle badly, catching his opponent on the leg in front of the referee and, for the second time this season, Terry found himself dismissed.
Had Everton been blessed with a full complement of strikers, a second-half onslaught against Chelsea's goal could have been expected.
But with options limited, Moyes's team instead attempted to find their way to goal by gradually increasing the pressure on their under-manned opponents and it was a frustrating spectacle for the home supporters.
And as the clocked ticked by, only a Marouane Fellaini header from Neville's cross, saved by Cech in the 53rd minute, was created by a cautious Everton.
Chelsea were unable to push Everton back inside their own territory, however, and an off-target 30-metre strike from Frank Lampard in the 75th minute was as close as they came to scoring. Everton almost snatched it when Fellaini's back heel bounced just wide of the far post 10 minutes from the finish, but Chelsea held out to claim what could ultimately prove to be a crucial point.
In my opinion, Dowd was in his usual "look at me" mood.
He sent J.T. off for what was, at the end of the day, a rash but not dangerous challenge which warranted a booking at best. He also booked a number of other Chelsea players for 'nothing' offences and Ballack for asking if the wall was 10 yards back at a free kick.
Referees decisions are becoming farcical and it's about time that they realised the best referees are innocuous, and when they're not they spoil the game for thousands of paying fans.
They are not the stars of the show.
Posts
