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Mark Clattenburg has slammed the decision not to award Chelsea a penalty in their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal, claiming Declan Rice’s ‘clear movement’ to the ball was a stonewall offence.
Chelsea put in a very respectable performance against Arsenal, despite the result. Reece James was the standout for the Blues, putting in one of his best performances under Liam Rosenior.
It was a game that saw the referee come into play on a number of occasions, including two penalty incidents and sending Pedro Neto off for his second yellow.
That is now a Premier League record for sending offs in a season, yet Liam Rosenior seems to be oblivious that there is a discipline issues at Chelsea right now.
Regardless, it could have been a whole different story is Chelsea had been awarded a penalty for the handball from Declan Rice.
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Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images Mark Clattenburg says Chelsea should have had a penalty
Mark Clattenburg spoke exclusively to The Chelsea Chronicle about the handball incident involving Declan Rice at the Emirates Stadium.
He believes that it should have been a penalty all day long.
“Declan Rice defends a corner kick and clearly moves his arm to the ball and a penalty kick should have been awarded.
“We see each week the inconsistency with refereeing decisions and this week is no different. The ball comes from a long distance and a clear movement of the arm to the ball should always result in a penalty.”
This comes just days after VAR claimed they were right to let Leeds United get away with a handball against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge too.
Chelsea looked lethargic in the final third – Agree? 🤔
Gary Neville doesn’t mince his words.
What is the point of VAR?
According to the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel, Chelsea actually began the year as the league’s biggest beneficiaries, with three major errors going in their favor by January. The most notable was a wrongfully disallowed Josh King goal for Fulham in August.
However, the tide has turned since Liam Rosenior’s appointment. The VAR justice has balanced out with costly non-calls, most recently the Declan Rice handball at the Emirates. Combined with a controversial goal conceded against Leeds, where a handball in the build-up was ignored.
Of course, these discipline issues and poor defending just don’t help Chelsea’s cause at all, but the refereeing standards need to improve in the Premier League.
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