Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho does not believe Gary Cahill dived to try and win a penalty during his side's 2-0 victory against Hull on Saturday.
Hull boss Steve Bruce accused Cahill of taking a tumble "like something out of Swan Lake'' as, already on a yellow card, Cahill went to ground in the Hull penalty area shortly after half-time. But, having already cautioned Willian for simulation earlier in the match, referee Chris Foy opted not to show the defender a second yellow.
"I didn't see it on TV because I was far away but I don't believe Cahill dive," Mourinho said. "If you tell me I'm wrong, and he dived, then something happened. They blocked his run, there was a touch or he lost his balance, but that big, honest guy, I don't believe he dived in the opposition box.
"With Willian, why would he dive on the midfield line? If he wants to dive he would dive in the box. Last year he had a red card from Mr Foy and after we realised it was not even a touch on [Fabian] Delph, so I don't think it's a big deal."
Despite the controversy, goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa ensured Chelsea got back to winning ways after last week's defeat to Newcastle.
"We didn't play especially well but we played well enough for everybody connected with Chelsea - supporters, players and staff - to be calm, because the game was always under control. We never felt it was at risk," Mourinho said. "We are playing well since August, four months of getting results in every competition, the team is solid. As I was expecting, the bad moment didn't continue. The bad moment was losing a game but after that we won again and played well again, we did against Sporting and we did today.
"I was right when I had no fears about negatives, the team has game principles and know how they want to play. We have a clear identity in our game, we change sometimes because we need to, but we are a strong team."
Hazard, restored to the Chelsea starting line-up having been rested for the club's midweek Champions League victory against Sporting, opened the scoring with a header before Costa ended the tie with a smart finish on 68 minutes.
"When I saw Eden in the box I wasn't surprised, but I was surprised to see him score with his head. He jumps a lot but normally he closes his eyes, it was a very good goal," Mourinho said. 'We made an agreement: he didn't play against Sporting, I gave him four days' holiday, he went somewhere with nice weather, where he could take his shirt off and get some sun. He told me he would come back fresh and you could see the happiness in his legs."
Having watched his side seemingly take the foot off the gas after Costa's strike double their lead, Mourinho admitted it had been smart from his players to save energy.
"They know what is waiting for them, if the game is under control and there is no doubt about the points, especially after the second goal, they can move the ball intelligently and save energy. As a manager you always want more but the reality is that what's in front of them [festive fixtures] is hard.
"This season we've had many special performances and today we had just moments of good football, creativity and dynamic play, it wasn't for 90 minutes. It was a good enough performance to win against a difficult team."