Mourinho hits out at Premier League over scheduling of Chelsea fixtures

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at the Premier League over the scheduling of his side’s game against West Brom.

The Blues were in Champions League action on Wednesday and face Steve Clarke’s men on Saturday while rivals Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United all play on Sunday.

The Portuguese has already been critical of his side’s fixture list after watching them take on
Arsenal in the Capital One Cup just two days after a crucial Premier League clash with Manchester City.

And now Mourinho feels his team is once again being given less time to rest than their rivals but admits he is powerless to do anything about it. 

“I feel our match is very special because from every English team involved in Euro competitions, especially the ones involved in Champions League matches, we’re the only team that play Saturday,” he told reporters.

“Everybody else has one more day to rest. Others play Tuesday and Sunday. Once more we’re really special and our game v WBA becomes the ‘Special Saturday’ not ‘Special Sunday’! It’s happening a lot with us. 

“The people who decide the fixtures, I think they laugh [at us]. They know what they can do and laugh because I can do nothing.” 

Mourinho also added his thoughts on the current debate surrounding diving, and insisted once again, that action should be taken against play-acting.

“If, because of diving, a football result directly is affected, I think the player should be punished. But I don’t need to speak to my players because they don’t dive,” he said. 

“I have the biggest example here. For Eden Hazard to go on the floor they [opponents] need to kill him. Sometimes he gets kicked by one, two or three players but he never dives.”