Portsmouth defender Ricardo Rocha claims Florent Malouda deserved to be sent off for the elbow which put him in hospital with a facial injury.
The 31-year-old suffered only bad bruising in the incident which came during Chelsea's 5-0 win at Fratton Park on Wednesday, though it was initially thought he had sustained a fractured cheekbone.
"I think it was a bad one from Malouda," Rocha was quoted as saying in The Sun.
"He just hit me and did not try to get the ball.
"The pain was so great I thought something was badly damaged. That is why I went to the hospital.
"These kind of actions are dangerous and it should have been a red card. But he just got a yellow."
Portsmouth midfielder Richard Hughes labelled referee Lee Mason's performance in the game "useless".
The official missed an elbow offence from Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge which broke Tommy Smith's nose.
