#POWER9TWELVE #SPORTSUPDATE Jose Mourinho believes there is a campaign to influence referees decisions against his Chelsea side. Mourinho was angry at referee Anthony Taylor for not awarding a penalty during the 1-1 draw at Southampton. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas was booked for diving after going down in the area under Matt Targetts challenge. After the game Mourinho told BBC Sport: The media, commentators, other managers are all doing it [putting pressure on referees]. In his news conference later, he added: There is a campaign against Chelsea. I dont know why there is this campaign and I do not care. Referee Taylor deemed Fabregas to have taken a dive under pressure from Targett, but there appeared to be contact from the 19-year-old full-back. ------------ Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says his team struggled for life in the second half of their goalless draw against Tottenham. Victory would have enabled third-placed United to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester City, with the top two also dropping points on Sunday. Van Gaal blamed the physical demands of the festive schedule for the stalemate. It is scientifically proven that the body cannot recover within 48 hours, the Dutchman said. United, who beat Newcastle in a 3-1 home win on Boxing Day, are 10 points behind leaders Chelsea going into the new year. The visitors created several good chances in the first half at White Hart Lane, with Juan Matas deflected free-kick hitting the post. Despite criticising Englands busy Christmas schedule, Van Gaal named an unchanged United starting XI for the first time in 85 Premier League games. ------------ Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said his players might have thought the game was over when they threw away a two-goal half-time lead against Burnley. George Boyd and Ashley Barnes scored as the Clarets snatched a surprise point. The 2-2 draw meant City were unable to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to a single point and also ended their nine-match winning streak . Until the last whistle the game is never finished, Pellegrini said. Maybe winning 2-0 we thought the game was over. ------------ Zambia on Saturday kicked off their pre-2015 Africa Cup training camp in Johannesburg. The 2012 African champions arrived in South Africa early Friday evening in two groups with one flying out of Ndola for the Copperbelt-based players while the other flew in from Lusaka. Twenty four players were initially in the camp and an additional four were set to join on Saturday afternoon. Still to be expected is the Israel-based duo - striker Evans Kangwa and defender Emmanuel Mbola of Hapoel Ra’anana. Captain and defender Stopilla Sunzu who is in the midst of tying up a move from French Ligue 2 club Sochaux to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua has not yet joined camp. ------------- Title favourites Algeria have named a final squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea while Group C rivals Ghana and South Africa are undecided. New Ghana coach Avram Grant, who guided Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final loss on penalties to Manchester United, chose a 31-man provisional squad. And South Africa counterpart, Ephraim Shakes Mashaba, called up 34 players for a post-Christmas Johannesburg training camp. Cape Verde Islands, Gabon and Mali have also picked final squads for the biennial 16-nation African football showpiece at Equatoguinean venues Bata, Ebebiyin, Malabo and Mongomo. Other contenders to select provisional squads of varying numbers include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Senegal, Tunisia and Zambia.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:01:23 +0000
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