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Hardly anyone would be paying serious heed when the manager of a team, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League, complains about the referees and the official body conspiring against his team, but the statement is particularly true when it comes to Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. With the Blues five points clear of closest rivals Manchester City in the EPL, Mourinho’s incessant rants against the Football Association and the Premier League officials conspiring to drag down his team comes across as the imagination of a crazy mind.
After all, ‘the Special One’ has been known to put on his tin-foil hat and cry foul at some time or the other at every one of his managerial stints across the globe. However, stats by Opta show a definitive discrepancy between the frequency at which Chelsea receive penalties in the EPL and the Champions League.
According to the stats, Chelsea have won four penalties in their seven games in Europe this season. While in the Premier League, Mourinho’s team have only been awarded two spot-kicks in their 26 matches.
Comparison with other English teams playing in Europe
If the difference is not alarming yet, a comparison of the numbers against other Premier League teams playing in Europe certainly raises an eyebrow. Manchester City have been awarded seven penalties in their 26 league games so far, while in the Champions League they have won two penalties in the seven games played so far.
Arsenal have won seven penalties in their 26 league games this season while their count in the Champions League stands at one in seven games. Brendan Rodgers’ resurgent Liverpool side have won four spot-kicks in their 26 league games in the season, while in Europe the Reds have had one penalty awarded to them in six games.
| EPL | Champions League | ||||||
| Team | Games | Penalties won | Games per Penalty | Games | Penalties won | Games per Penalty | Difference in frequency |
| Chelsea | 26 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 1.8 | 11.2 |
| Man City | 26 | 7 | 3.7 | 7 | 2 | 3.5 | 0.2 |
| Arsenal | 26 | 7 | 3.7 | 7 | 1 | 7 | -3.3 |
| Liverpool | 26 | 4 | 6.5 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0.5 |
So maybe all the ridicule of Jose Mourinho’s accusations of ‘unfair treatment' is somewhat unfounded. This time, Mourinho might actually have a point but it seems that the Portuguese has cried ‘wolf’ one too many times for anyone to take him seriously.
