Chelsea fans raise Bridge at bias for Man Utd

The race row involving referee Mark Clattenburg threatens to shake the foundation of the English Premier League (EPL) with the legitimacy of the Football Association at stake.

A litany of errors by the referee resulted in nine-man Chelsea suffering their first defeat in 10 years at Stamford Bridge against Manchester United on Sunday.

Clattenburg is facing the prospect of a police investigation into allegations he used "inappropriate language" towards Chelsea stars John Obi Mikel and Juan Mata.

A number of Monday's British newspapers simply had the headline "Accused" on their back pages as featured in The Independent, Daily Mirror and Daily Express.

The Guardian had a banner headline "Ref in Chelsea race row" while the Daily Mail proclaimed "Ref Race Row" although those allegations have not been substantiated.

Mikel did not hear the alleged abuse, but Ramires and David Luiz are prepared to make statements saying they did, according to the Daily Mail (https://bit.ly/SpzihQ).

It further revealed that following the final whistle, Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo and chief executive Ron Gourlay had to stop Mikel attacking Clattenburg during the confrontation.

The incident was sparked by the dismissal of Fernando Torres after being booked for "aggressive simulation".

Mikel was booked for dissent and continued to protest as he wanted to know why Torres had been booked for a second time when Chelsea’s players were convinced he had been caught by Jonny Evans on his way through on goal in the 68th minute.

The race row will continue to linger on but Chelsea fans were more concerned about the game-changing decision to book Torres going by the comments posted on Emirates 24|7 (https://bit.ly/SmrQ77) website.

Clattenburg not only sent off two players but the officials rubbed salt into Chelsea's wounds by allowing Javier Hernandez's 75th minute goal that swung the outcome United's way to stand, even though he was marginally offside before scoring.

There is little doubt in their minds and most analysts that Chelsea were robbed of victory after they rallied from 2-0 down to dominate the game for some 40 minutes.

Their anger was directed not only at Clattenburg but even United boss Sir Alex Ferguson whom they accuse of influencing referees.

"Considering United CEO David Gill is vice-chair of the FA what chance does any club have," wrote one.

"Clearly the referee was on Man U favour, everytime these two teams meet it's always the referee that decides match.......i hate mark, please don't ever come to Africa," wrote another.

"It was a 12 man Man U against 9 man Chelsea. Chelsea were on top of the game when the scoreline was 2-2 but the referee spoiled the game with 2 unnecessary red cards," said another irate Blues fan.

Chelsea fans are accusing referees of favouring Manchester United with one suggesting that they should get officials from La Liga or Serie A to blow important games in the EPL.

"Enough of all biased officiating from English referees, this is one big reason why La Liga is ahead of EPL. I'm not a Chelsea fan but after 90 minutes, I had the impression that the match was influenced by the English FA. They only used the match officials as the weapon to disrupt things. When do we start enjoying fair officiating in EPL?", observed one reader.

Another even suggested that Fifa or UEFA should probe EPL for corrupt practices.

Indeed it was a night of shame for EPL on Super Sunday.

The controversies will refuse to die down.

As Chelsea host United again in Wednesday's League Cup fourth-round match, it is certain the stoke the fires again.

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