AVB happy with refs

Villas-Boas on Tuesday revealed he had contacted referees' chief Riley over the performance of Chris Foy in the Blues' controversial 1-0 defeat at QPR on Sunday. The Chelsea manager's attack on Foy immediately after the game landed him with a letter from the Football Association asking him to explain his comments.

The Portuguese also criticised the standard of officiating in his side's matches at Stoke and Manchester United but he declared on Tuesday he was not upset with the quality of referees, saying: "No, this is the best league in the world. I don't think that reflects the overall standard."

Villas-Boas was nevertheless unrepentant over his comments about Foy, insisting he had done nothing to warrant an FA charge.

Chelsea were, however, charged with "failure to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion" at Loftus Road after some of them appeared to surround Foy when Jose Bosingwa was red carded.

The Blues were given until Friday to respond both to the charge and to the request for Villas-Boas to explain why he accused the officials of not treating both sides on Sunday equally and of being "card happy".

Villas-Boas admitted after the game that he was "very aggressive" with Foy after accosting the official post-match, having watched Bosingwa and Didier Drogba dismissed and seven more of his players booked at Loftus Road.

That landed Chelsea with an automatic £25,000 fine, which is bound to increase if they are found guilty of the charge. Villas-Boas could also end up fined or even suspended for his post-match outburst.

But speaking shortly before the FA announced they were taking action against the Blues, the 34-year-old stood by his words, something that could land him in even more trouble.

"I don't think I said anything I shouldn't have," Villas-Boas said. "I would never question the referee's integrity. But the fact is that, at the moment, we are paying heavily in terms of major decisions. Maybe this is what the FA (don't) want to hear from me - phrases like, 'The referee has influenced heavily three of our games'."

Source: PA

Source: PA