Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo revealed he congratulated referee Kevin Friend on his display in Saturday’s English Premier League draw at Swansea.

All eyes at the Liberty Stadium were on the match official following the controversy involving referee Mark Clattenburg during Chelsea’s league defeat by Manchester United last weekend.

Having led through Victor Moses’s first Premier League goal for the Blues, di Matteo’s men passed up the chance to reclaim top spot on the table after Pablo Hernandez’s 88th-minute equaliser earned the Swans a 1-1 draw.

However, the agenda continues to be dominated by last weekend’s events at Stamford Bridge which led to the European champion Blues lodging a formal complaint with the Football Association over allegations Clattenburg used “inappropriate language” towards Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Di Matteo paid tribute to the performance of Friend, whose display was bound to come under scrutiny given last week’s events.

“I’ve got to say the officials were very good,” di Matteo said. “Kevin Friend did very well in the game to keep both teams calm and let the game flow.

“He didn’t have any influence on the game. I congratulated him after the game because they (the officials) were very good.

“I didn’t speak to the players before the game about the referee. Generally, our team is very good (with officials).

“There has to be something really out of the ordinary for them to react. In general, we are a fair team,” the former Chelsea and Italian midfielder added.

“Talking about the football is how it’s supposed to be week in, week out. Everyone would like it to be this way, including me.”