Arsenal vs Chelsea ref watch: Three decisions Peter Bankes got wrong
Peter Bankes was the man in the middle as Arsenal progressed to the final of the Carabao Cup after beating Chelsea 1-0 on Tuesday.
Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-2 in the first leg at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, with the onus on the visitors to score.
Chelsea grew into the game after a tightly contested first half ended level, but it would be the home side who first went closest through Gabriel’s second-half header, which was blocked.
As Chelsea chased the game in the closing seconds, Kai Havertz broke through on goal and rounded Robert Sanchez to seal their place in the final.
Bankes has been involved in several controversial decisions this season, and he was at the centre of one or two intriguing moments on Tuesday, too.
Peter Bankes and VAR miss a clear handball
After just 17 minutes, the home side were given their first corner of the game. When Arsenal beat Leeds United 4-0 at the weekend, they netted two, and were keen to do it again.
Piero Hincapie went up for the header, and it rebounded off Wesley Fofana before dropping out for another corner.
Both Bankes and the VAR quickly moved on, but the instant replay suggested a mistake had been made.
The Chelsea defender had jumped with his arms extended, making contact on the ball with his forearm ahead of Hincapie’s head.
It was a bizarre moment that, on another day, could easily have been a very simple penalty for Arsenal.
Arsenal are denied a clear penalty
After a relatively quiet game for Bankes, an incident saw the contest explode into life in the final 10 minutes.
Trevor Chalobah had dove in and got some of the ball as Gabriel Martinelli looked to get in on goal.
The defender could not divert the ball away from the Arsenal forward, who looked to control the ball and take a shot.
Before he could, however, Chalobah clearly raised his leg and brought down Martinelli, to huge protest.
Bankes waved the incident away, and VAR confirmed his decision after a brief check, much to the bemusement of those watching from the stands.
Liam Delap is very harshly booked
As Chelsea attempted to get ahead, Arsenal were afforded the chance to break through Noni Madueke.
The winger ran onto a ball on the touchline and poked it forward, before going down under the contact of Liam Delap.
Bankes immediately produced a yellow card for what looked like a fairly obviously bookable offence.
But replays indicated a different story, with Madueke throwing himself down under the slightest of thigh-to-thigh contact.