Chelsea goalkeeper Cech hits out at referee Dowd after sending off at Wigan

29 September 2009 07:46
Petr Cech, having escaped an extended ban for disputing his red card at Wigan, was still arguing his corner as Chelsea arrived in Cyprus on Monday night. Cech, sent off by Phil Dowd for tripping Hugo Rodallega during a 3-1 defeat on Saturday, spoke out to accuse referees of inconsistency and failing to stand by the advice they offered goalkeepers in pre-season. 'The complaint was not about the penalty because you can see why it is given, the player clipped my leg and fell down, which you see given many times,' said the Chelsea 'keeper. 'The surprise was the red card because before the season started referees came to the training grounds to say which cases will be red or yellow cards. 'We had a good chat with them and one of the points was that if the player gets past the goalkeeper and the ball goes away from the goal, and there is a defender coming behind, it would be a yellow. 'So when the ref whistled I thought it would be a penalty and a yellow card because Ashley Cole was running behind me. If Rodallega had shot, he would have been there. So that's the surprise. You can see some given as red cards and some as yellows.' Referee Dowd has confirmed to the FA that Cech was trying to clarify this point before leaving the pitch on Saturday and his reluctant exit from the field was not dissent. But it clearly irritated the Czech international, who pointed to a similar incident in a Championship game at Hillsborough on Saturday when Sheffield Wednesday 'keeper Lee Grant fouled Cardiff's Michael Chopra to concede a penalty but was only booked. 'The goalkeeper made the same contact and got away,' said Cech, although the law does state it is a red card offence if a goalscoring opportunity has been denied. It is nothing to do with being the last man, otherwise defenders would not be sent off when there is a goalkeeper behind them. Cech's one-match ban rules him out of Sunday's clash with Liverpool but he can play in the Champions League against Apoel Nicosia on Wednesday. Ashley Cole, forced off with a knee injury at Wigan, has recovered to travel to the Cypriot capital but Michael Ballack and John Mikel Obi have stayed at home for treatment on calf and ankle injuries respectively. Joe Cole, fit again after his knee injury, is in the squad and hoping to make his first European appearance since last November.

Source: Daily_Mail