Marc Cucurella lucky to escape punishment in unseen moment during Chelsea vs Benfica
Marc Cucurella avoided a deserved booking as Chelsea defeated Benfica 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Chelsea earned a vital win over Benfica, but Enzo Maresca will be concerned by his side’s discipline, as substitute Joao Pedro was sent off after being shown two yellow cards.
The Blues have now received three red cards in their last four matches, with Trevoh Chalobah and Robert Sanchez being dismissed in defeats against Brighton and Manchester United, respectively.
And although Pedro seen red in last moments, another one of Chelsea’s players was lucky not to have been disciplined earlier in the game.
Marc Cucurella spotted waving imaginary card behind referee’s back
In the 64th minute of Chelsea’s win over Benfica, midfielder Fredrik Aursnes received a yellow card for a foul that halted the West London side’s counter attack.
Before Daniel Siebert gave the Benfica man a booking, Cucurella waved an imaginary card at the referee, an offence deemed worthy of punishment.
Cucurella ran behind Siebert, instructing the referee to book Aursnes. Luckily for him, the referee’s back was turned so it wasn’t spotted at the time.
Keith Hackett surprised officials didn’t intervene
Although VAR could not have intervened for such a scenario, Siebert’s supporting officials had the right.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Cucurella’s actions, ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett said: “There is clear protocol for VAR to assist with a ‘clear and obvious’ error or a ‘serious missed incident’ relating to: Possible goal, possible penalty, direct red card and mistaken identity.
“However when you consider this incident, I would have expected either an Assistant Referee or the Fourth official to bring this to the attention of the referee.”
Waving an imaginary yellow card at the referee warrants a booking in the Premier League and the Champions League.
Officials are keen to stamp the act out to avoid referees being undermined by players.