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LONDON - CHELSEA manager Avram Grant has made a stinging attack on Premier League referees, saying they helped Manchester United win the English title.
He also expressed his relief that the Champions League final in Moscow on Wednesday will not be controlled by an English official.
'In England, there are very good referees, but there are some, a few that you can influence, like you saw,' Grant said.
He was referring to United's last Premier League game of the season on Sunday, a 2-0 win at Wigan which saw Alex Ferguson's side clinch the title by two points.
In that game, referee Steve Bennett was criticised for failing to award a penalty against Rio Ferdinand for handball.
Bennett also did not give Paul Scholes a second yellow card to send him off for a blatant block on Wilson Palacios in the first half.
'I looked at the game. The referee was, as expected, good for one team,' Grant said, in comments that will surely invite the scrutiny of the Football Association.
'I told you I believed in the tradition of the fair English game. I will not say anything against it, but what happened is what I expected.'
The usually mild-mannered Israeli claimed referee Mike Dean 'changed the result' when Chelsea lost 0-2 at Old Trafford in his first game in charge last September, insisting Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel was wrongly sent off.
'I think in our game against United at Old Trafford, the referee changed the result for sure,' he said.
'The red card for Mikel was not a red card, the red card that wasn't for Scholes on Sunday should have been. Then there was the penalty when Ferdinand handballed.
'I do not think the world is against Chelsea. But, in this case, there were some coincidences, for United. But again I congratulate them.'
Asked if he was pleased that the referee in Moscow will not be English, Grant added: 'I can say yes.'
He is meanwhile confident of keeping his job whatever happens in Moscow, despite Chelsea's refusal to confirm his position.
'It's strange that there's still speculation and I don't know why,' he said. 'Maybe you will explain it to me.'
His mood was lifted further by the sight of John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba returning to training on Wednesday.
However, his claim that all neutrals will be cheering on Chelsea next week may be a step too far, reported The Times.
'Chelsea are the favourites of the neutrals, of course,' he said.
'Why do you think? Because they respect what we did this year, coming from fifth place to finish second in the Premier League and going into the final after drawing the first Champions League group game against Rosenborg.
'People respect these things, don't they?'
Assistant manager Henk ten Cate believes past experience could give Chelsea the edge.
'We have about six players in our squad who have won the Champions League at one time and maybe that can be an advantage,' he said.
'But it's going to be close.'
Champions League winners now playing for Chelsea include Nicolas Anelka, Claude Makelele, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Andriy Shevchenko and Juliano Belletti.
Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole have tasted defeat at the final hurdle with Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal respectively.
While United may start as favourites, they do not boast quite as many Champions League winners.
Ten Cate says the mood in the Chelsea camp is quietly confident before the journey to Russia.
'Manchester have played good football this year but we are getting better and better and we have momentum which will help us,' he said.
'The spirit in the team is good, losing the league title was not such a big disappointment.'
REUTERS
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