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English Premier League 2015-16
SportFootball

Roberto Martinez fumes at ‘heartbreaking’ decision as John Terry rescues Chelsea at the death

Everton manager blames a poor refereeing decision after his side were denied victory over Chelsea by a contentious 98th-minute equaliser in Saturday’s 3-3 draw between the teams

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John Terry celebrates scoring the third goal for Chelsea on his 700th appearance for the club. Photo: Reuters
Agence France-Presse

Everton manager Roberto Martinez blamed a “heartbreaking” refereeing decision after his side were denied victory over Chelsea by a contentious 98th-minute equaliser in Saturday’s 3-3 draw between the teams.

It's heartbreaking because I thought it was a terrific game of football. There is no explanation. It's a big, big error
Roberto Martinez

Everton led 2-0 and 3-2 at Stamford Bridge and looked to have the three points in the bag after Ramiro Funes Mori put them ahead in the 91st minute.

But after the 97 minutes of allotted stoppage time had elapsed, Chelsea captain John Terry flicked in a back-heeled equaliser from what appeared to be an offside position to leave Martinez fuming.

“It's a clear-cut offside that should have been spotted,” said Martinez, who was presiding over his 250th Premier League game as a manager. “To make it worse, it’s 50 seconds over time. It’s something that’s not good enough.

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“It's heartbreaking because I thought it was a terrific game of football. There is no explanation. It's a big, big error.”

Terry had earlier scored an own goal to put Everton in front. Photo: Reuters
Terry had earlier scored an own goal to put Everton in front. Photo: Reuters
Everton went 2-0 up courtesy of a 50th-minute own goal by Terry, who inadvertently diverted a cross from Leighton Baines into his own net, and a neat shot on the turn by Kevin Mirallas six minutes later.
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Two goals in two minutes by Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, who later went off injured, made it 2-2, before the late drama in injury time.

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