Samuel Eto’o nicked the ball from Cardiff keeper David Marshall as he bounced it before clearing, and the striker set up Eden Hazard’s opener.
On the prowl: Eto'o watches David Marshall as the keeper bounces the ball
And after the Blues went on to win 4-1, Holland said: ‘Samuel was on the shoulder of the keeper, I think the keeper was aware he was there. He bounced the ball. As it was in mid-air Samuel touched it and we equalised.
‘The referee — as we all did — had a good view and I’m sure he’s aware of the rules.
‘Those things go one way or the other. I can only repeat, from my point of view he looked like he was bouncing it. But the ref had a clear view, he was happy with it and we move on.’
The laws of the game stipulate that the ball is considered under the goalkeeper’s control when he bounces it.
The award of the goal by referee Anthony Taylor meant that Cardiff manager Malky Mackay’s biggest achievement last night was to keep his temper intact and his bank balance devoid of any FA fine.
Mackay sought clarification from Taylor at full-time over his controversial decision. ‘I have to be careful what I say,’ said a bristling Mackay. ‘But I did ask for clarification, and the referee’s explanation leaves me disappointed. He thought the keeper had dropped the ball, which meant it was in open play.
‘Well, I saw it at the time, and I’ve looked at it since, and he bounced the ball. David knows the rules. He also knew Eto’o was behind him. The ref made a mistake and although we conceded four goals it was a large factor in the result.’
When asked if he had ever seen such a goal as a player or a manager, Mackay said: ‘No, never.’
He added: ‘Until that goal we had been very competitive, could have been 2-0 up and had hit only the second League goal by visitors all season to Chelsea.’
Holland also addressed the 70th-minute dismissal Jose Mourinho, whose complaints to Taylor, after the referee criticised Branislav Ivanovic for time-wasting, resulted in him seeing red. ‘Jose is very frustrated about their time-wasting,’ Holland said.
Off you go: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is sent off by referee Anthony Taylor
‘From the first minute, they took a long time to take every dead ball. It was 56 minutes before their goalkeeper finally received a caution.
‘Ivanovic had the ball in his hands for two seconds, and the referee was gesticulating for him to get it into play.
‘Jose was furious. For an hour, we’d been frustrated by their clear time-wasting.
‘It’s very frustrating for Jose to then be sent off for protesting after we have to throw the ball in within two seconds of getting it.’
One for me: Eto'o wheels away after scoring a goal of his own as Chelsea cruised to victory
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