Thaindian News

London, Apr 14 (ANI): Bolton boss Owen Coyle has accused referees of helping Chelsea to the title.

The Bolton boss was angry after having two penalty appeals waved away during last night’s clash against Chelsea.

Coyle claimed Didier Drogba handled and, following Nicolas Anelka’s 43rd-minute winner, John Terry looked to knock the ball away with his arm.

“Four points clear… if Chelsea continue to get those decisions, I’m sure they will be winning the title. We didn’t need any luck, we only needed the officials to get the big decisions right,” The Sun quoted Coyle, as saying.

“There were two stonewall penalties out there for handballs. I know Drogba is a world-class player but he could play world-class volleyball on that evidence,” he said.

“Then there’s the second one when John Terry handles it. The assistant referee says it hit his shoulder but it’s a clear penalty. He must have a shoulder that stretches down to his ankles in that case. These are big decisions. The first one was at 0-0, the second might have got us a point,” Coyle added.

Coyle pointed the finger at referee Lee Probert and his linesmen. And his claims came hard on the heels of Aston Villa’s protests that they were denied a penalty during the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

Coyle said: “The referee has not been helped by his assistants if he’s not in a good position to see it. I can’t recall any favourable decisions since I came to Bolton. It’s hard to take. We’re fighting for our lives.”

The Blues, who go to Tottenham on Saturday, need 10 points to be certain of the championship.

Chelsea boss Ancelotti said: “It is not my job to judge the referee. Sometimes you are unlucky, sometimes you are lucky. When we have bad decisions I don’t talk about them. This was an important win.” (ANI)