Hackett Exclusive: FIFA slammed after Chelsea ‘serial offender’ Levi Colwill banned
Levi Colwill’s latest suspension for Chelsea has seen Club World Cup officials accused of not upholding the law by Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the centre-back is failing to keep his emotions in check on the pitch and deserves to be punished for that.
Colwill escaped retrospective action after an X-rated rant during the Blues’ controversial win over Benfica in the previous round, taking an issue with referee Slavko Vincic’s decision to award a last-gasp penalty.
However, the 22-year-old remained available for the quarter-final clash against Palmeiras on Saturday, 5 July, trying his luck again with officials before picking up a yellow card and being banned for the semi-final.
Levi Colwill’s reputation grows at the Club World Cup
For the Club World Cup, only captains are allowed to speak to the referee during the game when it comes to decisions, and that person would be right-back Reece James for the Blues.
Despite this, Colwill has been caught screaming abuse at the officials against Benfica, and having not been sanctioned for doing so, he voiced his opinions on the pitch yet again before being punished.
Hackett is extremely surprised by FIFA’s lack of action towards the England international, with Colwill’s reputation beginning to grow during Chelsea‘s Club World Cup campaign.
FIFA fail to take action on Chelsea star’s on-pitch antics
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “He’s not the captain of the team, is he? In this tournament, we’re informed that only the captain is allowed to speak to the referee. I want to know why the referees aren’t enforcing the law.
“The first sign of a player, who is not the referee, challenging a decision should be given a yellow card. No conversation, no debate. That is the law, that is the competition’s rules. The Premier League may not invoke this specific rule, but where it is enforced, it negates players challenging decisions.
“This guy is a serial offender. Chelsea, as a football club, and the manager, have a duty of care towards the player because he seems to like operating in a blame culture, with conflict. There is clearly no respect.
“Get a sports psychologist in to talk about anger management and how they can actually help him because, if he continues at this rate, Chelsea are going to have a player who is not available regularly. That is a negative for the club and the fans. Just sort him out.”