Jose Mourinho Can't Hide Behind Poor Refereeing Decisions After Chelsea's Defeat

Just when it appeared Chelsea could do no wrong in the Premier League title race, along came Aston Villa to send them crashing back down to earth with a sobering defeat.

Saturday's 1-0 loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Jose Mourinho and his players, blowing the title race wide open.

The fallout from that result continues, too, on the back off Willian and Ramires being dismissed and their manager also sent to the stands.

Those incidents have meant the spotlight has fallen on much more than Chelsea's performance, with that of referee Chris Foy also coming under heavy scrutiny.

The Blues were far from impressive at Villa Park, although Foy himself has seen better days in the middle, and questions have been raised over a number key decisions in the game, notably Willian's sending off.

Rather than moving on from a disappointing evening, Mourinho has since stoked the flames by calling for the St. Helens-based referee to be banned from officiating Chelsea matches—for his performance and the fact Foy has dismissed six Blues players in his last eight matches involving the club.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Maybe it is helpful that the committee doesn't send him to our matches," Mourinho suggested, per the Mirror: 

"

I don't have the right to request that. It's just that I think they have to analyse the situation and see. Every time he has Chelsea—or not every time, but many times he has Chelsea and the problems are there. I think maybe it would be a good decision.

"

It's a natural response for any manager to feel aggrieved when two of his players receive their marching orders. In the heat of battle, the impression is often that one red card is difficult to accept, but two is a severe miscarriage of justice.

Chelsea were right to complain about the incident involving Willian. It was hardly a foul on Fabian Delph, let alone a second bookable offence. As for Ramires, his lunge on Karim El Ahmadi is inexcusable and the Brazilian deserved his punishment.

There were other poor decisions besides that infuriated Mourinho, but to use Foy's display to cover up his team's shortcomings is equally as bad.

Whether it was Mourinho's intention or not, Chelsea's poor performance has long been forgotten. Instead, it's the referee who is now the subject of media attention on the back of his comments.

To his credit, Mourinho has perhaps been the biggest critic of Chelsea this season. While others have been quick to label them favourites for the title, the Chelsea manager has been quick to suggest otherwise.

He has even publicly lamented the form of his strikers and other players at various stages.

After Saturday, it should have been the same. Foy was poor, yes, but Chelsea faced Villa for more than an hour with equal numbers.

Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

For all the possession they enjoyed, Chelsea failed to properly test Brad Guzan in goal. They were limp in attack and struggled to raise their game to compete with Villa's endeavour.

Had Chelsea made the most of that dominance, Willian's sending-off would not have mattered. They would have long been out of sight, with the points and game wrapped up.

Eventually things went from bad to worse and Villa capitalized, punishing Chelsea in much the same way the Blues should have done to them.

Mourinho says it's on the contrary, but this Chelsea team is competing for the title and has a very real chance finishing top of the pile come May.

It's the talent of his players that will get Chelsea there, not refereeing decisions. Equally, it will be the failure of the Blues to dispatch teams in the wrong half of the table that will prevent it from happening.

Foy played his part on Saturday, but Chelsea were the real masters of their downfall.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @garryhayes