Roberto Martinez calls level of refereeing in Chelsea draw 'diabolical'

By Lewis Jones

Everton boss Roberto Martinez was left angered with the officials after his side conceded a late equaliser at Stamford Bridge

Roberto Martinez called the level of refereeing "diabolical" after John Terry's controversial injury-time equaliser in Everton's 3-3 draw with Chelsea.

Terry netted a 98th-minute leveller despite being in a clear offside position to rescue a point for Chelsea in a pulsating Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

After an uninspiring, goalless first half, the game burst into life with all six goals coming in the second period. Ramiro Funes Mori flicked home what looked like the winning goal on 90 minutes, before Terry struck with the last kick of the game. 

Even Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink said it should have been disallowed and Martinez was left stunned and angry with the decision to award the goal, which was scored after the allotted seven minutes of injury-time was up.

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink was proud of the way his team fought back to claim a point in a spectacular game with Everton

He told Sky Sports: "I'm not frustrated. I'm very angry. Top and bottom, we lost this football game because of a horrific decision right at the end. It's clearly offside and it was over the time of seven minutes. If you look at the time of when we conceded, it's well over the time. That's something which is clear cut.

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"We scored two very good goals, conceded two and the game became very frantic. We showed incredible character and resilience to get the third goal - it was what we deserved. We have had that taken away in a very unfair manner.

Image: John Terry celebrates scoring Chelsea's third goal

"It's a long ball, a couple of headers and all you want is the referee to do his job. The linesman is in a good position and John Terry is clearly, clearly, offside.

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"Unfortunately, you don't get anything. No one will get anything out of it. We won't get the two points back and that's the most frustrating part of it. You're looking at a game which was a fantastic game of football - for every fan and neutral - but the level of refereeing is diabolical in that respect. That's really, really hurtful.

Kevin Mirallas says that Everton controlled the game at Stamford Bridge but were denied all three points late on

"Nobody deserves that. It's something that is down to the decision. If you ask any Chelsea fan or anyone connected with Chelsea, they will tell you it was offside and over the time.

"That's not a point of view, it's clear cut. It should have been given and it's an incredible decision to see given in the best league in the world." 

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