Jose
Mourinho has "planted a seed" and put pressure on referees after claiming
there is a clear campaign against Chelsea, says Gary Neville.
Mourinho was left incensed when referee Anthony Taylor failed to award a
penalty for a 55th-minute trip by Matt Targett on Cesc Fabregas and instead
booked the Spain international for diving.
Mourinho blamed the Fabregas booking on recent accusations of diving made
against Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic, who was named by Sam Allardyce
in the wake of West Ham's Boxing Day defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Neville told Sky Sports he believes Mourinho knows there is no campaign
against Chelsea from referees, but insists he is planting a seed to put
referees under pressure in the future.
"He has planted a seed for the rest of the season," Neville said. "He'll
probably take a fine for that.
"What Mourinho has done today has said he's drawing a line in the sand and
said 'I'm not accepting this any more', letting the referees know this is
unacceptable for the rest of the season.
"The campaign bit is him saying he's not having this anymore."
Neville, an eight-time winner of the Premier League, says this is a clear
tactic for teams gunning for the title.
He added: "It's what teams that are going for the title do. Historically,
you put pressure on, you plant seeds, he won't think for one minute there's
a campaign against Chelsea."
Graeme Souness agreed with Neville, saying there is nobody better than
Mourinho at instilling pressure on officials.
"He's drawn attention to it and is basically trying to put referees under
pressure. And nobody does it better."
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