Source: Team_Talk
Hughes has sympathy for Pulis
Fulham boss Mark Hughes believes big teams such as Chelsea tend to get the benefit of the big decisions from referees.[LNB] The Cottagers manager sends his side out at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night hoping referee Martin Atkinson is not influenced by the big-match atmosphere.[LNB]Atkinson came under fire from Stoke manager Tony Pulis for his handling of Stoke's 2-0 defeat at Sunderland at the weekend when he failed to give a penalty when Lee Cattermole clearly handled the ball on the goal-line. It led to Pulis saying the worst referees should be relegated from the Premier League.[LNB]Hughes would not go that far, but he said: "Do big clubs get the benefit of decisions? As a player at Manchester United I would have said absolutely not. But as a manager going up against the so-called Big Four clubs, I have a different view, possibly.[LNB]"There's a natural tendency, it's human nature. Sometimes the consequences of giving a decision against a big side are too much for some referees to take. It's difficult for them.[LNB]"There's no way I'm questioning the integrity because it's split-second decisions and it's human nature sometimes that you take the easy option."[LNB]Hughes added: "You just want consistency in decisions and most of the season you will get that. But where a decision actually affects the outcome of the result, those are the ones you want the referees to get correct and of late it seems too many of them have been given incorrect.[LNB]"I'm not for one minute saying that we get badly treated in terms of refereeing decisions.[LNB]"We've had a number that have gone against us but there are a number of clubs aggrieved by decisions that are made against them."[LNB]Fulham's Mexican defender Carlos Salcido is sidelined with ruptured ankle ligaments suffered in the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at the weekend and will be out for three to four weeks. Damien Duff is likely to come in. Defender Chris Baird has also suffered a thigh tear.[LNB]Fulham have never beaten Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge but Hughes, who spent three years at Chelsea as a player, said: "You have to be positive. Too many teams go to the likes of Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and they are beaten before they go on the pitch. That is not the attitude or the mentality I want from my team."
