Keith Hackett: Chelsea star should be in trouble for what he did to corner flag
Chelsea should have had a player carded as they celebrated their third goal in the 4-3 win over Tottenham, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that referee Anthony Taylor should have issued a booking after one of the corner flags was removed and thrown to the ground.
It was a controversial game between the two London rivals on Sunday (8 December). Both Moises Caicedo and Dejan Kulusevski were involved in incidents that might have seen them sent off on another day.
Hackett has now suggested that there was another worthy of action was missed at one key moment in the match.
Chelsea player should have been booked after Enzo Fernandez goal: Keith Hackett
Having trailed 2-0 early on, Chelsea fought back to lead 4-2, with Son Heung-min’s stoppage time strike no more than a consolation for Tottenham.
After Jadon Sancho’s finish and the first of two Cole Palmer penalties had made it 2-2, Enzo Fernandez put the Blues in front for the first time in the match with 73 minutes on the clock.
Having scored that goal, the Chelsea players then celebrated in the corner of the ground where their fans were placed.
During those celebrations, one member of Enzo Maresca’s side lifted the corner flag out of the ground and threw it to the floor, with Hackett stating the offender should have been booked by Taylor.
Speaking to Football Insider about that celebration, the former referee said:
“After scoring the third goal a Chelsea player pulled out a corner flag in a group of celebrating players and threw it to the ground.
“That’s a yellow!”
That victory means the Blues now sit second in the Premier League table four points behind Liverpool, who do have a game in hand.
In other news, Chelsea have made a player available for transfer during the January window.
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