Chelsea: Jose Mourinho blasts Cesc Fabregas red card following West Bromwich Albion defeat

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has blasted the referee for sending off midfielder Cesc Fabregas during the Blues' 3-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion on Monday, 18 May.

The Spanish midfielder was sent off after he kicked a ball into Baggies midfielder Chris Brunt's face after a melee. This led to the referee banishing the player, which will result in a three-game ban for the former Arsenal skipper.

The Portuguese manager labelled it a "bizarre" red card as he feels that his player did not commit an aggressive act. He believes that Darren Fletcher was as aggressive towards his player and deserved more than just a yellow card as well.

"Three game ban for this? Jesus Christ. Three game ban? Of course it's harsh," Mourinho is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

"Where is the danger of the situation, where is the aggression in the situation to get the red card in a friendly game?"

"I really don't understand. I think (Darren) Fletcher was aggressive, he pushed him (Fabregas) in the chest because he is experienced and knows where he can push for a yellow card. He is much more aggressive than what Fabregas did," the Blues manager explained.

"For me a top referee, a stable, big personality and in control of the game, goes there, two or three words and it's done. It's a bizarre red card."

Mourinho feels that had his team needed to win to secure the title, they would have played at a higher level. The manager admitted that he will take some of the blame along with his players.

"The ideal scenario is to be champions and don't play again, go home have holidays and don't play again. When you have three more matches to play it can happen what happened to Bayern Munich, lose three in three. It can happen to us, one point in two matches," the Chelsea manager explained.

"I don't blame the players, to blame the players I have to blame myself because I am not different than them. Let's blame the players a little bit, let's blame myself, let's blame the top contenders for the title because they were not good enough to fight with us until the end."

"If today we need this game to be champions, I'm not saying we'll win but I'm saying we would compete at a higher level to win," Mourinho concluded.