Stamford Bridge

Next Game

Chelsea v Man City

Friday, 24 May 2013, 01:30

Friendly Match

Stamford Bridge

Last Game

Chelsea 2 - 1 Everton

Sunday, 19 May 2013, 16:00

Barclays Prem

Di Matteo keeps the faith

Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo felt the performance of referee Kevin Friend in the draw at Swansea City justified his faith in match officials.

Last Updated: 04/11/12 at 08:42 Post Comment

The European champions are currently at the heart of a storm after accusing Mark Clattenburg of racially abusing John Obi Mikel.

And it had been reported Di Matteo was worried the case would see Chelsea suffer at the hands of match officials.

But after the 1-1 result at Swansea, the Italian told Sky Sports: "I always said I don't fear that. I have faith in the officials. Today was a very good performance by them."

Asked specifically about Friend, Di Matteo said: "I thought he was terrific. The referee had a fantastic game today and let the game play. I told him after the game."

Chelsea surrendered top spot in the Premier League to Manchester United as a consequence of the draw with Swansea, who equalised Victor Moses' opener through Pablo Hernandez's late strike, and Di Matteo was disappointed.

But Chelsea have played three games in less than a week following last Sunday's controversial defeat by United, when the accusation against Clattenburg took place, before gaining revenge against Sir Alex Ferguson's team after extra time in the Capital One Cup.

And Di Matteo said: "Mentally and physically it has been very demanding, playing two games against Manchester United and also the extra time.

"But the players responded with a lot of commitment today and we nearly won."

Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Related News

Sky Bet

    • Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds

Most Commented

Readers' Comments

I

m curious as to what image Real Madrid are trying to re-establish as I always thought their pre-Jose image was one of a bunch of a classless bullies tapping up whoever they wanted while living it large on borrowed money they're never going to pay back.

john matrix
Perez Will Spend Big To Forget Jose...

A

t the start of the season, after the RVP transfer, I confidently claimed that Arsenal would finish above United. I now regret it immensely.

Fuzzy_Dunlop
Reflecting On The F365 Pre-Season Predictions

D

aniel Storey generally did very well, going against the City won it last year so they're bound to win it this time grain. As for John Nicholson, I wouldn't trust him to predict correctly what day of the week it will be tomorrow.

Griff
Reflecting On The F365 Pre-Season Predictions

Footer 365

Pardew to remain at the helm

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will remain in charge at St James' Park after holding talks about his future with owner Mike Ashley.

LB: Toffees won't come unstuck

Leighton Baines insists the upheaval of losing manager David Moyes to Manchester United after 11 years in charge will not derail Everton.

Whelan hopeful over Monday meet

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan is increasingly confident Roberto Martinez will stick with them to lead their bid to return to the Premier League.

Mail Box

More Scared Of Losing AVB Than Bale...

We thought we would have to resort to another mailbox about maths but we've had some grand opinions about Man United, Newcastle, Tottenham and more. Oh and maths...

An Ode To Rafa And Loads More Mails...

We have one Chelsea fan who recognises the job done by Rafa Benitez while there's maths from Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester. And Shawcross to Arsenal? Nah...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved