• Premier League

'Mourinho was right - Atkinson's performance was terrible'

ESPN staff
February 23, 2015
Mourinho chooses silence on four key moments

Martin Atkinson's refereeing performance in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Burnley was one of the worst ever seen, according to former referee chief Keith Hackett.

Atkinson was heavily criticised by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who highlighted four key incidents that he felt influenced the result of the game.

Mourinho was particularly angered by the sending off of Nemanja Matic, who was dismissed for reacting to a strong challenge made by Burnley's Ashley Barnes.

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Chelsea also had two penalty appeals turned down, while Barnes also caught Branislav Ivanovic but escaped a booking, and Hackett joined Mourinho is criticising Atkinson's display.

"Atkinson was very, very poor," Hackett told talkSPORT. "I've asked the question on our website [You are the Ref]: 'was that the worst refereeing performance that we have ever seen in the Premier League?'

"I think he was fatigued. He had Schalke v Real Madrid, a big Champions League game, in midweek and he shouldn't have been out on Saturday for a game of that nature.

"Mourinho was correct. Four major decisions in that game Atkinson got wrong and of course the major one was Barnes and that horrendous challenge [on Matic].

"That is what referees are getting paid for, that's what a professional referee should be able to detect and punish.

"I can't recall such a bad performance. Earlier in the season Atkinson had a poor performance of a similar nature, but this one topped it."

Jose Mourinho saw his Chelsea side draw 1-1 with Burnley last Saturday © Getty Images
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