The incident occurred late on during Chelsea's 1-0 win over Everton with replays appearing to also show Ivanovic dig his teeth into McCarthy
Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic is at the centre of a violent conduct storm following Wednesday night's dramatic win over Everton.
In the aftermath of Gareth Barry's dismissal, the Serbian had James McCarthy in a headlock and appeared to attempt a headbutt in the midfielder's direction.
Post-match images seemingly showed Ivanovic biting the Everton midfielder, who picked up a booking while the Chelsea man escaped without a card.
Moments later, Willian struck a last-gasp winner to hand Chelsea all three points, with Ivanovic involved in the build-up, leaving Toffees boss Roberto Martinez furious that he was still on the pitch.
"My players were really upset about that. It's the reaction of the Chelsea players you don't like. Ivanovic grabs James McCarthy by the throat," said the Spaniard.
In pictures: Chelsea 1-0 Everton
"You need a strong referee for those matters. You have to take your chances. You don't want to see the incidents we saw at the end.
"I was disappointed with the manner in which the referee dealt with it."
Martinez added: “If you look at the images Ivanovic’s behaviour is wrong. He grabs him around the neck in a forceful manner then puts his head against him when James McCarthy didn’t react and if you want to be on top of the laws, that’s a red card.
“If you want to analyse that action (when it leads to the goal) it’s even more hurtful. You just don’t want to see teams winning games in that manner.”
Blues boss Jose Mourinho played down the incident, instead opting to praise the officials for their decision to disallow Nemanja Matic's strike for offside.
He said: "Did Branislav Ivanovic go in with his head? Don't make me laugh. Don't make me laugh."
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