Cardiff manager Neil Warnock branded Premier League officials the âworst in the worldâ after Chelsea capitalised on a refereeing blunder to produce a dramatic 2-1 comeback win.
Chelsea were 1-0 down with six minutes left when Cesar Azpilicueta, who was standing two yards offside, met Marcos Alonsoâs flick-on to head home the equaliser.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek punished Cardiff further in stoppage time, leaving Cardiff to count the cost of assistant referee Eddie Smartâs failure to spot that Azpilicueta was clearly offside.
Warnock also felt that Cardiff should have had two penalties, both for Chelsea players holding Sean Morrisonâs shirt at set-pieces.
Antonio Rudiger, Warnock added, should also have been sent off for dragging down Kenneth Zohore with the score at 1-1 and the Cardiff substitute through on goal. Rudiger was booked by referee Craig Pawson.
âItâs almost like itâs not who you play, itâs who you get to referee and who is going to have a flag in their hand nowadays, itâs just as important,â Warnock told Sky Sports.
âThe best league in the world and probably the worst officials at the minute.
âHe (Smart) is saying that Willian blocked his view, but it wasnât a six inches one. Either side you should be able to see heâs two yards offside.
âItâs soul-destroying really. I can understand why the lads are down.â
Cardiff took the lead against lacklustre Chelsea in the first minute of the second half.
Victor Camarasa struck a splendid volley and Cardiff, who are 18th and in the final relegation place, looked as if they would cut the five-point gap on Brighton, Burnley and Southampton above them.
âIf I was a Burnley, Southampton or Brighton fan itâs the best thing that could have ever happened,â Warnock said.
âItâs knocked our lads down, they are flat.
âWeâve worked on things for the last three weeks and one of them is coming out at corner kicks and leaving a man in.
âThe lads have just said âwhat we do now gaffer? Whatâs the point?â
âYouâve got to hope the linesman can see it. VAR has got to be the answer to help them out, it would have sorted the goal out within seconds.â
Chelseaâs win took them to within one point of fourth-placed Manchester United and kept alive their hopes of a Champions League spot.
But manager Maurizio Sarri, who left star forward Eden Hazard on the bench until the 53rd minute, was a target for the travelling supporters during the second half.
The Chelsea fans sang âwe want Sarri outâ and âyou donât know what youâre doingâ before the late goals.
Sarri said: âI donât want to answer, but I can understand the reaction of the fans.
âBut it was probably best for them to wait until the end of the match. I am getting used to this and for me, itâs not a big problem.
âI just have to work to change their opinion. If I win matches, then the fans will be happy.
âWe were lucky with the first goal. But I think we deserved to win and, sometimes during a season, you need to win matches like this.â
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