Redknapp bemoans ‘harsh’ penalty decision

QPR boss Harry Redknapp described the penalty decision which led to the winner in the west London derby as “harsh”.

Eden Hazard secured a 2-1 victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after Eduardo Vargas was adjudged to have fouled him near the left-hand edge of the area.

It was tough on Rangers, who hit back with Charlie Austin’s equaliser after Oscar had fired the Blues ahead.

But Redknapp insisted he did not believe that Hazard had dived in the box.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he believed the decision was correct, but Redknapp said: “I thought it was a harsh penalty, yes. It was two little men going shoulder to shoulder. It was a harsh one.

“I’m not saying it wasn’t a penalty, just that it was a soft penalty. The referee’s made an honest decision.

“I wouldn’t say he went down easily. They shoulder-barged each other, hit each other and Vargas bounced him off. I wouldn’t say he dived.”

Rangers were competitive – unrecognisable from the side which rolled over at Tottenham and Manchester United – and Redknapp felt they deserved a point despite Chelsea dominating large parts of the match.

He said: “We’ve worked hard like that in the last couple of games.

“We had a couple of away games where we didn’t play well at all, but the home games have not been a problem and we worked hard in an away game today.

“There have been lots of positives in the last three games and today we worked hard against the best team in the country.

“We deserved a point. Obviously they controlled most of the game – they’re going to, they’ve got fantastic players.

“It was a good away performance, we just didn’t get quite the rewards I hoped we’d get.”

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