There is little Jose Mourinho does not know about football, yet he made a rare mistake when he criticised referee Graham Poll for the quickly taken free kick converted by Thierry Henry in the 29th minute as the visitors were setting up their defensive wall.‘‘I am more than unhappy,’’ said Mourinho. ‘‘I can’t say the word I have in my heart and soul. I know the rules of the game which are the same the whole world over — China, Japan, Under-15s, everywhere.’’Mourinho refused to elaborate when asked which rules had been broken. For all his protests, his team were guilty of naivety bordering on unprofessionalism. Whatever Mourinho’s beliefs, the guidelines on Law 13 relating to free kicks are that if a referee has signalled that it can be taken, then the attacking team can go ahead and take it.The reasoning is that a side should not be offended against twice and the laws also state that a player can take a free kick even if an opponent is not 10 yards from the ball provided play is allowed to continue.Henry explained: ‘‘The referee asked me if I wanted to wait for the whistle and 10 yards. I said, ‘No, I want it,’ and he said, ‘OK, you can have a go’. I was just waiting for (Eidur) Gudjohnsen to move out of the way.’’It was, despite whatever Mourinho believes, a legitimate free kick and Chelsea were simply caught napping.(The Daily Telegraph)
