Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso should have been sent off, claims Mark Hughes

Southampton’s manager critical of Mike Dean decision in defeat 
• ‘Maybe that’s why [English referees are] not at the World Cup’

Mark Hughes criticised Mike Dean and his fellow officials following Southampton’s morale-crushing defeat to Chelsea after they failed to send off Marcos Alonso for a challenge on Shane Long.

The Southampton manager said Alonso’s raking tackle, which was not even adjudged to be a foul by Dean, was “a really poor challenge” and that “one of the officials should have seen it”. Hughes went on to suggest such a mistake was why English referees will not be represented at the World Cup in Russia this summer.

“It’s a poor challenge, a really poor challenge,” he said. “It should have been a red card. The disappointment was that the officials didn’t see it. They were within a 10-, 15-metre radius. I would suggest one of them should have seen it.

“I’m not sure but I don’t think Alonso was booked. Maybe people have to look at that situation again retrospectively. The referee didn’t give a free-kick. It’s not sour grapes, we’re not trying to get fellow professionals in trouble but a decision needs to be made on that as it wasn’t acceptable. These are key moments and referees have got to get them right. Maybe that’s why they’re not at the World Cup.”

Alonso’s challenge on Long came at the end of a first half in which Southampton held the lead. They scored again in the second half through Jan Bednarek but a double from Olivier Giroud and another goal from Eden Hazard stunned Saints.

Hughes, who is still waiting for his first point as the Southampton manager, said: “Clearly if Chelsea were down to 10 men in the first half with ourselves in the ascendancy, that would have put a different slant on the game.

“It’s a real shame because the players have put in such an effort. But they’ve taken blows all year and can’t start feeling sorry for themselves now. We’ve got to stick our chests and get on with it. It’s not like we’ve haven’t got enough games to turn it around.”