JOHN OBI MIKEL says the Chelsea players felt Wayne Rooney should have been sent off for his reckless tackle on Oscar.
 |
| Johb Obi Mikel and the Chelsea players believe Wayne Rooney should have seen red for his challenge |
Rooney escaped with only a yellow card from referee Martin Atkinson after scraping his studs down Oscar's shin late in Monday's goal-less draw at Old Trafford.
Midfielder Mikel said: "I didn't see the tackle, but from what I've heard it was a bit high. The other players were talking about it at the end and they said he should have been sent off. Oscar is fine though."
Former referee Dermot Gallagher also felt the Manchester United skipper was lucky. "He was nowhere near the ball, it was high and it was dangerous," he said. "To make a challenge like that he was running a massive risk of getting a red card.
"The only thing that has saved him is that the referee didn't have the view that the cameras showed. It was a straight red."
Rooney apologised for the tackle, insisted there was no malicious intent and said he deserved what was only his second caution of the season.
"It was obviously accidental," he said. "I knew straight away I caught him and I could have caused him a bit of damage.
 |
| Martin Atkinson only awarded Rooney a yellow card |
"I apologised to him on the pitch, there was no intention of hurting him and he's [the referee] given me my yellow card which I probably deserved."
The FA will take no further action because the referee has seen and dealt with the incident.
Meanwhile, Mikel admits the atmosphere has improved at Chelsea since Jose Mourinho departed and interim boss Guus Hiddink arrived.
And while he believes Hiddink can't be expected to perform miracles, he believes the reigning champions will climb the table and has not ruled out salvaging a top-four place.
"We've moved on and the atmosphere has improved since the change of manager," he said. "It's fine now, we've just not been getting results.
"Jose is a fantastic manager and will always be a fantastic guy. But sometimes football is a cruel game and you have to move on. He came back to the club a second time and won two trophies, but now he's gone and we have to move on. Is it the right decision? Who knows? We'll only see in the future.
"We're down there in the table for a reason so he [Hiddink] can't come in and perform miracles, but we want to get out of there and climb the table. We've had three games now without losing so are making the right steps.
"He hasn't changed much yet, but he was here before and he knows the place and all the staff. The players are different - only me and John Terry were here before - but he knows what to do.
"I don't think reaching the top four has gone yet. We've got a lot of games left to play and points to catch up. If we keep going in this direction and keep keeping clean sheets then we'll definitely score goals."
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus