José Mourinho dismissed from the dugout amid Chelsea indiscipline
Chelsea lost 2-1 at West Ham United, finishing the match with 10 men on the pitch and two dismissed from the dugout, including their beleaguered manager. Already trailing to a goal by Mauro Zárate, Chelsea's frustration with the referee Jonathan Moss began to come to the boil. Cesc Fàbregas was aghast to have a goal ruled out for offside in the 44th minute and moments later Nemanja Matic was sent off for a second bookable offence. Several Chelsea players protested bitterly and two of them were shown yellow cards for dissent. Chelsea argued on the sidelines, too, and the club's assistant first team coach, Silvino Louro, was banished to the stands for berating the fourth official. Mourinho received a similar punishment after trying to continue the debate with Moss at half-time. Gary Cahill equalised for Chelsea in the second half but the champions were undone by an Andy Carroll header. West Ham's manager, Slaven Bilic, expressed sympathy for Mourinho - "I feel for him," said the Croat - but viewed the refereeing decisions that angered Chelsea as understandable. "They were not mistakes," said Bilic. "They are matters of opinion. For the disallowed goal, nobody can say that he was on and nobody can say that he was off - even when you see the pictures, you are not sure. Looking in the game, it was more off than on. I would definitely moan if the decisions were against us, but they were not mistakes." Chelsea ended the match with six players in the referee's book, a rate of offending that will trigger a mandatory fine. No one from Chelsea attended the post-match press conference, a breach of Premier League regulations for which Mourinho is certain to be punished. The Football Association will await Moss's report with interest. Chelsea are appealing against the FA's decision to impose a £50,000 fine and one-match suspended stadium ban on Mourinho for improper conduct following his criticism of referee Robert Madeley after Chelsea's 3-1 loss to Southampton on 3 October. Mourinho is also likely to face questions from his employers. The club has given him steadfast public support this season despite alarming results, disciplinary woes and controversy over the public rebuking and eventual resignation of Dr Eva Carneiro. After the Southampton loss, Mourinho warned that to dismiss him would be to "sack the best manager this club has ever had". Chelsea then took the unusual step of giving the Portuguese a public vote of confidence, announcing: "We believe that we have the right manager to turn this season around and that he has the squad with which to do it." Events at Upton Park are likely to test that faith. If Mourinho is to remain at Stamford Bridge, he must quickly rally his players, who have too often been sluggish and disjointed this season, as they were in patches at Upton Park. They face Stoke City in the Capital One Cup in midweek and Liverpool next weekend. Confidence among the Chelsea players has plummeted. "[The mood in the dressing room] is not great, like you'd imagine when you lose games," admitted Gary Cahill. "Last season we weren't used to it. The lads are devastated. "You're left scratching your head sometimes. In the first half the Fàbregas goal could have been given and we had the goal that was nearly over the line. That sums up the way we're going. We've not had the rub of the green but we're not feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to work hard to turn this round." Source: The Guardian
