Bad news for Chelsea
Chelsea'a appeal against the red card of Jon Obi Mikel in their 2-0 defeat against Manchester United on Sunday has failed. Mikel, in my eyes, was harshly shown a straight red card when he made a rash but not dangerous tackle on Patrice Evra during the game on Sunday. Apparently Fifa does not allow cards to be downgraded so Chelsea could only have won the appeal if they had proved that no action at all should have been taken against their player. Chelsea boss Avram Grant said he was " disappointed and surprised".
"One of the things I teach my players and even my children is that when you make a mistake you can admit it," he said. "I can promise if I make a mistake I will tell you. It has happened to all of us - nobody is perfect. "The referee made a mistake - he made three mistakes - but one of them he could correct and he didn't do it, so I am very disappointed. "On Sunday, the referee affected the result with three bad decisions. Our players were very disappointed but I like their reaction. If I saw something wrong, it was the decisions of the referee."
John Terry may also be banned for an incident in the game on Sunday. Whilst David Dean was sending off Mikel, Terry was seen trying to grab the card from the grasp of Dean's hand. His actions have been mentioned in Dean's match report and Terry may face punishment. I have to say I feel the decision not to rescind the red card of Mikel's is stupid but I do feel Chelsea have adequate cover for him in midfield. I did see the incident with Terry but I'm not sure wheter it deserves possible punishment.