Enzo Maresca has opened up on the public criticism of Premier League referee Anthony Taylor amid Chelsea fans' worries ahead of their clash with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Taylor has taken charge of many Chelsea matches throughout his career, with Blues fans less than pleased to see him named as the referee for their huge match on Sunday.
The English official has often made controversial decisions in favour for Chelsea's opponents, from handing Spurs a free-kick when Paulo Gazzaniga fouled Marcos Alonso in the Tottenham box, which was then overturned and given as a penalty by VAR, to missing several red card offences.
When the Blues faced Bournemouth earlier this season, Taylor was criticised for the number of yellow cards handed out in a fairly tame match, with no real dangerous challenges being made.
With the referee being handed one of Chelsea's biggest matches of the season, Maresca was asked about Taylor and whether he does anything to prepare differently for matches under the referee.
The Italian answered diplomaticly but admitted that there are some things that he tells his players for different officials.
Taylor was heavily criticised for his performance in Chelsea's win over Bournemouth this season, where he handed out 14 cards
Taylor was heavily criticised for his performance in Chelsea's win over Bournemouth this season, where he handed out 14 yellow cards. / IMAGO / PA Images
As quoted by The Standard, he revealed: "We don’t plan the game because of the referee. For sure we give the players some information in terms of some general information."
Maresca continued to discuss Taylor, citing the game against Bournemouth earlier in the season as a difficult one for the referee because of the intensity of matches at the Vitality Stadium, where Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City have lost this season.
“That game (Chelsea's 1-0 win over Bournemouth) was probably intense because Bournemouth away, you see last night (Spurs' loss at Bournemouth) and in general – the Arsenal game, the City game – they are always intense, aggressive," he said.
"Sometimes the game becomes difficult to manage for the referee so you start to give yellow cards but I don’t have anything to say about the referee."
Chelsea will be hoping that they can take advantage of Spurs' poor form in recent weeks and extend their lead in the top four.
Maresca's men sit second in the Premier League table, but so far the Italian has refused to be drawn into any talks about a title race as he believes his side are still behind Liverpool and Arsenal in terms of their development.