MILE Jedinak says the Chelsea players crowding around referee Craig Pawson to send Damien Delaney off last Saturday has to be expected at the top level.
The 30-year-old thought it was a good chance for the official to level things up following the red card shown to Cesar Azpilicueta minutes before for the challenge on himself.
"There was contact there," said Jedinak of the Spaniard's challenge. "Whether there was or wasn't, it wasn't the nicest of challenges. The referee has seen it and he's made that decision.
"I don't think they can have too many complaints with it but it is what it is.
"Our one was a little bit unfortunate. It was giving the referee a chance to even it up and it wasn't ideal.
"You have to accept that players crowding around the ref can happen, particularly at this level where players do have a big influence on games, and they can influence the referee sometimes.
"That's part and parcel of playing at this level and we knew that going into the game and tried not to give them that chance but unfortunately we didn't manage to keep it that way.
"I think Damien thought he didn't do too much wrong. I thought there wasn't a lot in it. These players have a knack of going down and he (the referee) blows for a free-kick.
"You have to accept it and get on with it. Maybe he (Delaney) was wound up but it was a bit out of character."
Jedinak returned to action following a couple of games with Australia last week and says the players didn't want to let the fans down after beating Chelsea in March.
"I felt fine - I don't know how the others were feeling but I was up for the game," he said.
"You know it's going to be difficult but we had a good feeling going into the game as well. We knew what happened here last season and we didn't want to disappoint."
