Anthony Taylor told he's been "stitched up" after Chelsea row with Pochettino

14 November 2023 , 00:43

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Anthony Taylor told he's been "stitched up" after Chelsea row with Pochettino

Anthony Taylor was "stitched up" by VAR during Chelsea 's dramatic draw with Manchester City, claims former Premier League ref Keith Hackett.

The man in the middle gave two penalties at Stamford Bridge, one for either team in a pulsating 4-4 draw. It was City who got the game's first spot kick, which Erling Haaland easily converted. It was the Norwegian who was bundled to the floor as he looked to get onto the end of a cross.

City's marksman was impeded by Marc Cucurella as he tugged on his shirt, but replays showed it was arguably the striker who began the physical contact, although VAR opted not to review that far back, nor did it advise Taylor to have a look for himself.

Hackett has criticised those at Stockley Park for not giving the referee more of the overall picture. He wrote in The Telegraph : "We are fortunate to see multiple angles of the offence, where Erling Haaland initiated the first contact on Marc Cucurella. Taylor, one of the best referees in the country, was decisive in pointing to the spot without hesitation but I think he needed another look.

"This is where I have a problem with the VAR. We don't know what Taylor saw from his viewing angle - presumably he wasn't in a position to see Haaland's contact, but he did catch Cucurella's foul. The VAR absolutely should have told Taylor that he needed a second look at what happened.

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"Had he gone over to the pitchside monitor, I believe he would not have given the penalty and instead penalised Haaland for a foul. It feels to me Taylor has been stitched up by VAR here."

Anthony Taylor gave a debatable penalty during Chelsea's draw with Man City

Jamie Carragher echoed that sentiment as he analysed the game on Sky Sports, suggesting that VAR only reviewed the very end of the scuffle. "This is not the right decision because VAR wasn't looking at the start of the tussle," he said. "It's very harsh on Chelsea, VAR have only looked at the end of tussle. I think it's harsh, I really do."

Taylor later received the wrath of Mauricio Pochettino at full-time as the Chelsea boss stormed onto the pitch. He felt aggrieved that Raheem Sterling was potentially denied the chance to score the match-winner when the whistle was blown, but later apologised.

“I need to apologize to Anthony and the referees and the fourth official," he confessed. "In this moment, I feel that maybe Raheem [Sterling] can go through and go to score the fifth and in this moment when the game finishes I turn and say “what the….?” You know what's going on. I said 'why stop in this moment, the action.' Then I turned and said 'I deserve, I deserve to be booked."

Samuel Meade