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Mauricio Pochettino has launched an astonishing attack on referees by claiming Southampton get a raw deal – because their players are ‘young and good-looking.’

The Saints boss was left seething after Mark Clattenburg turned down two penalty appeals during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Everton . The Argentine moaned: “I am completely angry about some of the refereeing decisions. There is not just one but two clear penalties that were not given to us.

“We have been suffering this all season long, many injustices that haven’t gone our way.

“I said after the game it is easier to referee a Southampton side where we are all young and friendly and have young players.

“It’s very easy to have decisions not go for us. It’s a lot easier to have decisions go against us.

“I don’t want my players to be nasty; we just want Southampton to be refereed with the same rigour as all other clubs are judged.

“We don’t want to be judged by our young, handsome, good looking players that we have. We just want what’s fair. We can be a**eholes as well.”

When asked if officials are more likely to give favourable decisions to bigger clubs, Pochettino – whose side face Chelsea on New Year’s Day – replied: “That is the case and it shouldn’t be that way.

“They shouldn’t be conditioned to referee in that manner but that is the way it is.

Singling out Clattenburg, Pochettino said: “I think the same referee refereed our game at Norwich last season.

“He called a penalty in the last minute which was actually saved by Artur Boruc and on Sunday he didn’t give two clear penalties that should have been given.

“If those penalties had been given we could be talking about a completely different story.

“We could be talking about a very young, brave side that went to a very tough stadium such as Everton and got a very positive result and that wasn’t the case.

“I think in the end if you don’t talk you seem almost as if you are dumb so I am talking because I want to defend my club. It’s my duty to defend my club.

“These things need to be said and I am actually defending my club because it is my club and I think if I don’t talk I am going to seem as if I am dumb or I don’t care about my club.

“After every single game we speak with the match delegate and we make him aware of things we did not like about the game and things that weren’t fair about the game.”

Meanwhile Saints have appealed to the FA against record signing Dani Osvaldo’s violent conduct charge following a touchline brawl in their 1-1 draw at Newcastle earlier this month.