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Jose Mourinho does not believe that Robin van Persie would have escaped with his elbow on James Tomkins on Sunday had he been a Chelsea player.
Mourinho is still upset by Diego Costa’s three-game ban for violent conduct after stamping on Emre Can, and believes it was a result of concerted media pressure against his player. After Manchester United’s Van Persie elbowed Tomkins on Sunday, Mourinho was surprised that there had been no campaign of vilification, and no similar retrospective action for him.
“I need a little bit more time to forget why my player was suspended, to understand why some people are punished and others aren't,” Mourinho said at this afternoon’s pre-match press conference.
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“The same people who suspended my player didn't want to suspend a player this weekend, and a player could have been suspended this weekend and he wasn't. I'm still processing that information.”
Mourinho said that he was not surprised to see his players punished differently from those on other teams. He contrasted a four-game retrospective ban for Ramires, for hitting Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson, at the crucial end of last season with Yaya Toure’s unpunished kick on Ricky van Wolfswinkel of Norwich City.
“Somebody who did this in the face of somebody, and nothing happened,” said Mourinho, making an elbowing motion with his arm, clearly referring to Van Persie. “I know that if it was one of mine...
“Last season, the same thing happened when Ramires was suspended [through retrospective action] and, one week later, a Man City player kicked a player at Norwich who was on the floor and nothing happened. I'm used to it.”
Sam Allardyce described Van Persie’s elbow on Tomkins as “pretty naughty” on Sunday evening. “He had a look to see where the defender was and then took him out basically.”
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