Chelsea boss Mourinho claims Robben ‘wins’ fouls by dishonest methods

Arjen Robben of Holland (C) tries to maneuver between Diego Reyes (L) and, Miguel Layun of Mexico during the 1/8 final match between The Netherlands and Mexico on June 29, 2014 at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Jose Mourinho has claimed that Arjen Robben does indeed try to win fouls from opponents through not entirely honest means, but has claimed that the sheer speed of the Dutchman makes it difficult to tell if he has indeed been clipped.

Robben courted controversy in Netherlands’ World Cup second round victory over Mexico as he went down under a challenge from Rafael Marquez to win a late penalty that sealed their progress into the quarter-finals, before admitting that he had dived in a separate incident earlier in the match, prompting calls for FIFA to take action.

Robben is a major £40m transfer target for Manchester United.

The footballing governing body opted against sanctioning Robben for his actions, but he has gained a reputation for his theatrics throughout football for repeated offences at both club and international football.

Mourinho managed Robben during their time together at Chelsea and has claimed that Robben does have a tendency to exaggerate contact from opponents in order to gain an advantage in games.

Morinho told Yahoo in his role as global ambassador, “He (Robben) was my player and I know better than many what a fantastic player he is.

“I also know that because of his speed and because of his creativity, he is punished a lot with fouls by opponents that cannot stop him.

“I also know that sometimes he tries to get an advantage and he tries to get a free-kick or tries to get a penalty. I think it’s important for the players to help the referees , and to help the referee is to be honest on the pitch, be pure and try to win the right way.

“But the reality is that not every player behaves that way and referees have a difficult job.”