Arsenal and Chelsea Settle for Draw Amid Refereeing Controversy
Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea manager, has raised concerns regarding the fairness of officiating in the Premier League after Moisés Caicedo was sent off during the 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The dismissal occurred seven minutes before halftime after a VAR review of a late tackle on Mikel Merino.
Despite being down to ten players, Chelsea took the lead shortly after halftime when Trevoh Chalobah scored. However, Merino equalized for Arsenal just before the 60-minute mark.
While Maresca accepted the decision for Caicedo’s red card, he argued that Piero Hincapié should also have faced expulsion for elbowing Chalobah. He also pointed out inconsistencies in other officiating decisions, such as Rodrigo Bentancur’s yellow card for a foul on Reece James during a previous match against Tottenham.
Maresca remarked, “They ask me about Moï’s red card. It is a red card. But why was Bentancur not sent off against Spurs?” He expressed frustration that referees seem to apply different standards to similar situations on the field.
In contrast, Arsenal’s head coach Mikel Arteta accused Chelsea of deliberately targeting players on yellow cards, hoping to balance out the game in light of Caicedo’s dismissal. The Gunners saw four of their players—Martín Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori, and Hincapié—booked during the first half.
At halftime, Arteta substituted Calafiori for Myles Lewis-Skelly, who received a yellow card just nine minutes after coming on. “We aimed to take control of the game following Caicedo’s red card but struggled to achieve that,” Arteta said. “It was evident that certain players were targeted to level the numbers, prompting us to take a step back at halftime.”
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