Mourinho retracts his comments following a conversation with referee Kevin Friend.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has retracted his criticism of referee Kevin Friend following the emphatic FA Cup victory over Championship side Watford at Stamford Bridge, report Goal, with the Portuguese initially having complained about not being awarded a penalty during the move that saw Loic Remy score for his side.
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Watford centre back Craig Cathcart appeared to handle a shot from Diego Costa in the area before Frenchman Loic Remy smashed the loose ball home to put his side 2-0 ahead – but Mourinho still chose to criticise Friend for not awarding the spot kick during his initial post-match briefing.
Mourinho has now withdrawn those comments following a conversation with the official, however, with Friend apparently confirming that he had played advantage and that the penalty would’ve been awarded if Remy had failed to pounce on the bound, a decision that Mourinho described as “good refereeing”.
The Chelsea manager has hit the headlines for his incessant criticism of officials in recent weeks, with Mourinho feeling that his side were denied clear penalties in the Premier League games at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, but he took the rare step of apologising to the official during his later media commitments after the Watford match:
“Today we had a big penalty and i want to apologise for complaining on the television.”
“The referee told me that if Remy doesn’t control well the ball or it’s lost, it would have been a penalty. I was complaining but it’s good refereeing and I want to apologise.”