Antonio Conte has taken a fresh swipe at Jose Mourinho’s tactics by insisting that he wants Chelsea to face teams who ‘want to play football’.
The Italian clashed with Mourinho on the touchline during Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup on Monday evening after becoming angry with Antonio Valencia’s aggressive challenge on Marcos Alonso.
After the match, Conte claimed that Hazard ‘couldn’t play football’ after he was constantly fouled in the first half, while Marcos Rojo escaped punishment for his alleged stamp on the Belgian’s chest.
When asked what he thought of Rojo’s actions on Friday, Conte replied: ‘It’s important to underline that I spoke about this situation when you asked me if double yellow card was right.
‘I replied in this way, it was impossible to play football but I understand that in football there are these kind of situations, I don’t like this and want to face teams who want to play football.
When asked if referees need to give Hazard more protection, Conte replied: ‘I think the referee… it’s right to always to make the best decision, for the players to have the respect of opponents and respect football, because we play football.
‘First of all, I know during the game I know you can receive a kick, it’s normal, but the referee must pay great attention to respect the rules of football, because football is a great sport.’
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