Following the season’s third international pause, top-flight action resumed on Saturday morning for matchday 12. ..Continue Reading
In the weekend’s first fixture, Chelsea made the trip to Turf Moor to take on newly promoted Burnley, ahead of later kick-offs featuring Liverpool and Manchester City.
After a tense and tight encounter, Enzo Maresca’s men came away with the victory, with Pedro Neto finishing off a move crafted by summer arrival Jamie Gittens in the 37th minute, before Enzo Fernandez wrapped things up near full-time.
But the success for Chelsea wasn’t without drama, as an early incident left the home side incandescent with anger when they appealed for a spot-kick that could have completely altered the contest.
Sitting 17th in the Premier League, Burnley are clearly facing a relegation fight this campaign, with only a single point separating them from Nottingham Forest in 19th place.
As a result, earning points in front of their own supporters is crucial, and both Burnley’s players and fanbase felt they were denied a huge opportunity to go ahead after Trevoh Chalobah appeared to use his hand inside the penalty area.
In the 29th minute, Chelsea had been awarded a free-kick that appeared to be lined up for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to take.
Instead, Sanchez passed the ball short to Chalobah, who bent down and stopped it with his hand before getting up to take the kick himself.
Given that Sanchez had already put the ball into play, Burnley’s players were adamant a penalty should have been given the moment Chalobah handled it, immediately confronting referee Peter Bankes.
Responding to the incident, one supporter posted on X: “Absolutely a penalty. A ref, 2 assistants, a 4th official and 3 in the VAR room can’t see it?”
Another fan wrote: “Am I going made who is that a blatant handball and penalty for Burnley?”
A third referenced a comparable situation involving Aston Villa last season, saying: “Absolutely, Tyrone Mings can testify to that.”
That moment occurred during Villa’s Champions League fixture against Belgian side Club Brugge in November of the previous year.
Just minutes after the restart, goalkeeper Emi Martinez played the ball short to Mings, who then picked it up and placed it on the six-yard line to take a goal-kick.
However, because he used his hands to gather the ball, referee Tobias Stieler judged that the goal-kick had already been taken and immediately awarded a penalty — a contentious decision that Brugge captain Hans Vanaken subsequently converted.
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