- Chelsea defeated Tottenham 4-1 in a fiery encounter on Monday
- Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were both sent off during the match
- CHRIS SUTTON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a CLOWN – It all starts
This was chaos, like some kind of sequel to 2016’s ‘The Battle of the Bridge’.
That was the most difficult match I have ever had as a referee and this match was just as hectic for the officiating team.
There were cracking challenges, petulant kicks, penalties, disallowed goals, possible elbows – and that was only in the first half!
It was the kind of match where the officiating team had to be at their best.
Referee Michael Oliver and VAR John Brooks had to apply the laws but also manage the spectacle, and they were tested to the limit with what happened here…
Destiny Udogie could have been shown a red card in the opening twenty minutes of Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Tottenham for this challenge on Raheem Sterling
It was a fiery match in which Cristian Romero also kicked Levi Colwill in the first half
Michael Oliver and his officials were tested to the limit during the tense affair which saw VAR John Brooks called into action on several occasions
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Udogie escapes red – Wrong decision
Destiny Udogie was lucky for two reasons. One because Raheem Sterling pulled his leg away to avoid a serious injury.
Two, because Brooks didn’t tell Oliver that this challenge was worthy of a red. Udogie was in the air and led with two feet, the studs showing.
It is exactly this type of challenge that should be banned from football.
Romero kicks out – Correct call
Pure irritability from Cristian Romero’s ball to Levi Colwill, but not violent, so he was right to avoid red.
Raheem Sterling’s goal in the aftermath had to be disallowed due to his handball just before scoring.
Romero sees red – Correct decision
Once it was determined that Moises Caicedo’s strike had to be disallowed – as Nicolas Jackson interfered from an offside position – attention turned to Romero’s challenge on Enzo Fernandez.
It doesn’t surprise me that this resulted in both a red and a penalty. Romero accepted a challenge and took a big risk even though he clearly won the ball.
Football has changed so much and now playing the ball is not enough to save someone from red.
Romero was subsequently shown a red card for this challenge on Enzo Fernandez, while he was also awarded a penalty that allowed Chelsea to draw level at 1-1.
James whacks Udogie, but stays on – Correct call
James used his arm to jump, not to run into danger. Furthermore, he caught his opponent with his forearm, not the elbow.
Udogie’s second yellow card: right decision
When Udogie already had a yellow card, he was hasty in clearing Sterling.
This was one of the easiest decisions of the evening for Oliver: a second yellow card all day.
Udogie was shown a second yellow card in the second half after taking down Sterling