Chelsea receive new red card verdict after ‘unseen’ Nottingham Forest incident

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has commented that VAR couldn’t look into the clash involving Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, as the footage wasn’t available during the match. He noted that following the 1-1 draw, where Nuno Espirito Santo’s team had already been down to 10 men due to James Ward-Prowse’s second yellow card for handling the ball and halting a Chelsea break, the Football Association might step in after the new angle came to light.

The altercation started in the final moments of Sunday’s match between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest when Marc Cucurella was shoved by Neco Williams in the vicinity of the Chelsea bench. Three yellow cards were given by referee Chris Kavanagh to Neco Williams, Marc Cucurella, and Levi Colwill for their respective involvement.

Later on, a different camera position showed a confrontation between Brazilian defender Morato of Forest and Jackson.

Speaking with Sky Sports, Gallagher clarified that the FA might now need to handle the matter because the Video Assistant Referees had not had access to the other side of the purported incident at the time. “If you get in the middle of it, you have two problems, you’re at risk of being struck yourself, if the player strikes you – he has a problem,” explained Gallagher, explaining why referees tend to avoid such altercations. “It might be accidental but it won’t exonerate it,” he continued. Secondly, you can see who comes in as an attacker and who comes in as a peacemaker. Taking a step back and selecting what you can accomplish has several benefits.

“This falls in line with once your colleagues have swept up, the FA can pick up. This angle (of Jackson) wasn’t shown, I know I was watching what the VAR was watching, there’s an argument that the VAR haven’t checked it because they couldn’t see it. It’s a new angle, it’s up to the FA what to do,” reports Football London.