Jose Mourinho has been charged by the Football Association after claiming that there is a "campaign" to influence referees against Chelsea.

Following the Blues' 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's on December 28, Mourinho was incensed by referee Anthony Taylor's decision to book Cesc Fabregas for diving when the Spaniard went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Matt Targett, describing the call as a "big mistake".

The Portuguese interpreted the booking as the latest in a long line of decisions against Chelsea over previous weeks and months and hinted at a wider agenda on the part of the media, rival managers and officials.

"I think it’s clearly the result of something that looks like a campaign," he told reporters when asked about the Fabregas incident.

"It should be easy - [referee] Anthony [Taylor] goes to a screen, he sees he makes a mistake, he’s a good guy, an honest guy, he writes ‘I made a mistake’ and lets [rescind] the yellow card to Fabregas. It should be simple.

"My view is the same as yours. It’s the view of everybody. There are situations in matches where we can have different opinions, and you think something, I think another thing but there are others where everyone has the same opinion.

"I’m saying we don’t need to speak about it because everyone knows.

"Why [was Fabregas booked]? Because the referee made a mistake. People make mistakes, he made a mistake. Big mistake, but a mistake."