Mark Clattenburg explains why VAR didn’t give Pape Matar Sarr a red card during Chelsea vs Tottenham
Chelsea’s fixture at home to Tottenham on Thursday night was certainly one full of incident.
The most important thing for Chelsea is that they returned after the international break with three points in the Premier League, which they earned after a narrow 1-0 victory at home over Spurs.
Enzo Fernandez’s header in the 50th minute secured the win for the hosts at Stamford Bridge. As a result, the Blues return to fourth position in the Premier League table.
Enzo Maresca’s side thought they had doubled their advantage in the second half when Moises Caicedo fired in a low volley, but it was ruled out by VAR after a long check because Levi Colwill was offside in the build-up.
There was yet more intervention from VAR to follow, though.
Spurs believed they had levelled the match at 1-1 when Pape Matar Sarr, who came on as a substitute, found the back of the net with a shot from distance that squeezed under Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. However, the goal was chalked off because of Sarr’s foul on Caicedo moments before the ball ended up in the net, with VAR sending referee Craig Pawson to the pitchside monitor to take another look.
Overall, there were plenty of positives in Chelsea’s player ratings versus Spurs from a contest they deservedly won.
Mark Clattenburg gives verdict on Pape Matar Sarr booking against Chelsea
Sarr received a yellow card for his challenge on Caicedo as the decision was made to cancel a Spurs equaliser.
Speaking exclusively to The Chelsea Chronicle, former official Mark Clattenburg explained why Sarr’s booking was the right decision over a red card that some supporters were asking for.
He said: “Sarr goes to win the ball and as he tries to make contact with the ball, Caicedo moves his leg across to protect the ball and catches him with his foot.
“For this challenge to meet the criteria of a red card, there has to be some degree of force, malice and speed in the challenge which would then make the challenge endangering the safety of his opponent. This challenge lacked all of the above and all of the above needs to be met to reach the criteria of the red card.
“In fact, when you look closer at the challenge, Sarr catches his leg with the outside of his foot and not with his studs and with a bend leg and not straight. This is a reckless challenge which should be punished with a caution.”
Even though VAR will be in the headlines again, largely for the length of time it took to make a decision, the importance of Chelsea’s latest win over Spurs shouldn’t be lost.
Ahead of the midweek game, Caicedo praised the Chelsea fans for their support in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Back in December, the travelling Blues supporters were magnificent in a 4-3 victory.
On Thursday night, Chelsea’s home support found their voice to help the team get over the line.
Chelsea stretch run against Tottenham in fiery London derby
Blues supporters will love to see that they’ve now stretched their winning run over Spurs to four consecutive matches.
| Date | Result | Competition |
| 3 April 2025 | Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham | Premier League |
| 8 December 2024 | Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea | Premier League |
| 2 May 2024 | Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham | Premier League |
| 6 November 2023 | Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea | Premier League |
On Thursday night, Maresca got the better of Ange Postecoglou in the manager’s dugout for the second time this season.
In terms of on the pitch, it was certainly a fiery contest between the London rivals. While it didn’t quite match the Battle of the Bridge from 2016, there were still 10 bookings in total.
| Chelsea yellow cards | Tottenham yellow cards |
| Trevoh Chalobah | Cristian Romero |
| Nicolas Jackson | Pape Matar Sarr |
| Marc Cucurella | Ben Johnson |
| Pedro Neto | Pedro Porro |
| Cole Palmer | Djed Spence |
The good news for Blues supporters is that Caicedo avoided a booking because he’s only one short of 10 yellow cards for the league season and a two-game suspension.
from Latest Chelsea News and Updates - The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/f9NkPTi
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