Jose Mourinho Blasts Ashley Barnes for Tackle on Nemanja Matic on Sky Sports

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at Burnley’s Ashley Barnes for his tackle on Nemanja Matic during the Blues’ 1-1 draw with the Clarets on Saturday.    

The midfielder reacted angrily to the forward’s shin-high challenge and was shown a red card, while Barnes escaped punishment.

Speaking to Sky Sports’ Goals On Sunday, the Portuguese boss didn’t hold back in his assessment of the incident:

"

I can't find the word to describe what [Ashley Barnes] did. I can clearly understand that football is about emotions and sometimes you lose emotions.

Clearly, Matic had a reason to lose his emotions. What could be the consequence of his push for the other player? Nothing. The consequence for Matic could be end of career.

"

Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press/Associated Press

Sean Dyche responded, via Burnley's official YouTube channel:

Mourinho was left incensed by myriad incidents during the game, including two penalty claims that were harshly waved away and another rash challenge from Barnes on Branislav Ivanovic.

Chelsea were leading the game 1-0 when Matic was sent off, but Ben Mee bagged a late equaliser for the Clarets. Manchester City's 5-0 win over Newcastle United later in the day cut the Blues' buffer atop the Premier League to five points.

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Bleacher Report’s Andrew Gibney thinks Mourinho’s impassioned and impromptu appearance on the show may have been to take the focus off his team’s poor performance in the match:

This isn't the Chelsea boss's first run-in with referees of late, however. Earlier in the season, the Chelsea manager claimed there was a “campaign” against his team, per Dominic Fifield of The Guardian, and referred to what he felt were the broadcasters’ double standards when reporting on previous incidents, per Rob Harris of The Associated Press:

During the interview, Mourinho also insisted that more should be done to help referees in these kinds of situations:

"

If the referee can't see a penalty three metres in front of him, an official in front of a screen can't miss it. If we want to protect the integrity of the referee and believe that the mistake is the consequence of misinterpretation or a bad position, I think technology can help.

"

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The four decisions that went against Mourinho’s men in the clash with Burnley add further credence to his insistence that they’ve been on the wrong end of many a faux pas from officials this season.

But there have also been innumerable occasions on which Chelsea have had a favourable decision go their way; conveniently, they are instances Mourinho chooses to ignore. While his grievances are raw and undeniably real, this public appearance reeks of the Portuguese looking to take the pressure off his team after they dropped points in a match they should have won.