Rennes president Nicolas Holveck has slammed the incompetence of referees after numerous calls were against his side in their loss to Chelsea.
Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners over Rennes in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The scoreline and the actual proceedings of the game were two different stories.
The Blues were admittedly the superior side but the game was killed off by contentious calls that received criticism from all angles.
Chelsea were already awarded a penalty after Timo Werner was brought down in the area by Dalbert. The first penalty against Rennes caused debate but it was not long until there was another; this time an unwarranted one.
Dalbert blocked Tammy Abraham’s shot with his knee, from about a yard away, before the ball ricocheted up and struck his arm. Referee Felix Zwayer reviewed the incident via VAR and not only awarded a penalty but gave the defender a second yellow card leading to his dismissal.
Even Chelsea fans on social media were left stunned by the decision which was in their favour.
After the game, Rennes president did not hide his disappointment at the level of officiating.
“I am very proud of the coach (Julien Stephan). We should not be ashamed despite the score,” Holveck said as quoted by talkSPORT.
“But there is more than disappointment, there is frustration. The man of the match was the referee.”
“I would like them to explain to me the handball rules inside the box. If there is a handball from Dalbert while the ball has already touched his foot, what about the handball from Zouma? VAR wakes up for our [handball] but not theirs.”
The Rennes president continued to rant at the decisions that cost his side big time.
“And on top of that, he gives a second yellow with that. We can be frustrated, more than frustrated. The result, it was the referee who made it.”
“The match is killed at 2-0 while Alfred [Gomis, Rennes’ goalkeeper] has not had a save to make. We were certainly refereed like the newbie, and that is difficult to accept.”
“You have less weight over the referee when you are Rennes than when you are Chelsea. When the referee has a good match, in general, you do not speak about him.”
“But I think we are going to speak a lot about him this evening. Even the English media are unanimous in saying that it is a little scandal. Sleep will be hard to find.”
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