Chelsea captain John Terry claims he would be suspended if he gave his true feelings on the penalty controversy against Manchester United.
The Blues, beaten 1-0 by United in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, were denied a late penalty when Patrice Evra brought down Ramires in the penalty area.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti has since accused referee Alberto Mallenco of lacking “courage”, but Terry has decided against making his feelings clear for fear he could receive a ban from ruling body UEFA.
The England defender said: “I think the most frustrating thing for the players is that we can't come out here and be honest about it. We would face possible bans.
“We're seeing players receiving bans left, right and centre for speaking honestly after games.
“You guys (the media) lose out, the players can't be honest and we end up walking on eggshells.
“Unfortunately, I can't say more about it but it was a clear penalty.”
He added: “Even from 50 or 60 yards away, I could see Ramires got the first touch.
“After the game, we watched it on the video like everyone else.”
The Blues could have snatched a late equaliser had the penalty been awarded, but goalkeeper Petr Cech insists it was not the main factor behind his side’s defeat at Stamford Bridge.
He told the club’s official website: “Everybody has seen the tackle and you can see it clearly on the TV but the most important thing is the referee didn't give it.
“We created enough to score a goal so we should have done better than this. We were unlucky with the decision but we should have played better.”