Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata has pulled no punches in his criticism of English referees and said that they show favouritism and give award decisions in favour of players who they like.
The former Juventus player has had a mixed spell at the west London side in his inaugural season, scoring 15 goals in 45 goals in all competitions, despite being Chelsea's most expensive transfer, making the move from Real Madrid for a reported £60 million.
Now the Spaniard has come out to say that referees in the Premier League will only give fouls your way if you are nice to them.
He said to Spanish outlet Marca in an interview: "I now know what the Premier League is like and what the referees are like."
"I'm starting to befriend them now in the final stretch of the season because it's the only way for them to call more fouls for you," he said.
"In the first half of the season, it was a crazy thing. I protested a lot.
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Then the 25-year-old went on to make a crazy admission, saying that an official of the game once did not give a foul his way despite admitting that it was one.
"One of them even told me that he knew it was a foul, but that he wasn't going to call it for me.
"This is the style of the Premier League and the likeable one ends up being chosen."
These comments will do Morata no favours in the future with referees in the English game.
There have been question marks surrounding Morata's physicality during some Premier League games this season, with many criticising the player, saying that he goes to ground too easily, rather than standing up when he receives the ball.
Maybe it's the Spain international who needs to adjust his game, not the Premier League referees. What are your thoughts - could the standard of refereeing in the English game be higher?
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