Keith Hackett rips into ‘malicious’ Chelsea star live on air for what he did vs Arsenal
Referee Anthony Taylor came to the correct decision to send off Moises Caicedo during Chelsea’s draw against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider, that he believes Taylor should have issued a red card on first viewing without needing to watch the incident again.
Trevoh Chalobah and Mikel Merino scored as Chelsea held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, in a fiery encounter between the two London rivals.
Chelsea missed the chance to make it four consecutive Premier League wins, but Enzo Maresca’s side remain in the top three.
Moises Caicedo ‘fulfilled the law for serious foul play’
Caicedo saw red for a late challenge on Merino during the first half, a decision Taylor originally gave as a yellow card.
After being sent to the VAR monitor, Taylor upgraded the yellow card to a red for Caicedo.
Speaking exclusively live to Football Insider on The Final Whistle show on Sunday evening, Hackett states that Caicedo can have no complaints about the decision: “Instantly when I saw that, it is a red, I didn’t need to look at the replays. It fulfilled the law for serious foul play. He’s come in with his feet leading, it doesn’t matter if it is one or both feet in terms of the challenge.
“It’s got excessive force, he’s endangering the safety of an opponent. There is a bit of malice in it. I think it was good that Taylor got involved quickly and perhaps stopped a mass confrontation between the players looking for retribution.
“The reality is of course he issued a yellow card, that then allows the VAR to say you’ve made a clear and obvious error. Have a look at the screen, we knew when he had a look at the screen it was going to change colour from yellow to red and it did.
“I mean this is about self-discipline in a game of this nature. Temperatures are high, the manager wants you to win, the crowd draws you along, but it needed a bit of calmness and a bit of maturity. It was a card that could have been avoided.”
Games Moises Caicedo will miss
Caicedo’s sending off means the 24-year-old will miss Chelsea’s next three Premier League matches against Leeds, Bournemouth and Everton.
It is Chelsea’s fifth red card of the season in all competitions, and the first since Liam Delap was sent off against Wolves a month ago in the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea have been told how they could end their red card woes, in what is becoming an issue for Enzo Maresca’s side.