Soccer Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Crystal Palace - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - January 15, 2023 Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech reacts REUTERS/Tony Obrien EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Journalist Adam Newson was left baffled with Hakim Ziyech‘s yellow card ‘shambles’ in Chelsea‘s 2-0 defeat away to Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
The Lowdown: Chelsea beaten at Spurs
The Blues faced a crucial Premier League encounter in north London as they took on one of their fiercest rivals in what felt like a must-win game, given the Blues’ awful form of only two wins from their previous 14 matches in all competitions.
A tempestuous contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw Graham Potter‘s side beaten by goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane in the second half as Chelsea endured yet another painful afternoon in a grim season.
Just before half-time, Ziyech was initially sent off for lashing out at Emerson Royal, only for referee Stuart Attwell to eventually go to the VAR monitor and show the Moroccan a yellow card instead.
The Latest: Newson left unimpressed
Taking to Twitter, Football London’s chief Chelsea correspondent Newson was left aghast at the confusion on show from the officials regarding the incident between Ziyech and Royal.
After the initial red card was overturned, the reporter tweeted his disdain over the process involved in reaching the eventual decision, stating:
“What a shambles.”
The Verdict: Not good enough
Some of the refereeing on show in the Premier League this season simply hasn’t been good enough, with inexplicable and erroneous decisions continuing to threaten the credibility of top-flight officials.
The incident involving Ziyech summed up the standard of officiating, with the Moroccan not doing enough to warrant a red card in the first place, and the decision also taking far too long to overturn, with at least three minutes between the initial incident and the eventual post-VAR decision.
This doesn’t excuse another lacklustre performance by Chelsea, though, and there could now be fresh question marks surrounding Potter’s future, with the 47-year-old already under pressure prior to today.
The Blues are now languishing in 10th place in the table after 24 matches – not what one would envisage in the wake of more than £550m being spent on transfers in the past 12 months.
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