Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca questioned the consistency of Premier League referees after Moisés Caicedo’s red card against Arsenal brought back memories of a similar incident which went against his side earlier this season.
The Blues put on a thoroughly impressive showing in Sunday’s 1–1 draw with Arsenal and could have easily walked away with three points had it not been for the first-half dismissal of Caicedo, who was deservedly shown a red card after catching Mikel Merino high on his ankle.
Maresca had no issues with the decision to send Caicedo off but asked how officials could see that challenge as worthy of a red card but not a similar challenge from Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur, who was spared an early bath by VAR when he caught Blues captain Reece James one month ago in a 1–0 victory.
“I just said there, he asked me about Moisés’s red card. It’s a red card, but why was Bentancur’s against Reece not a red card when we were at Spurs away?” Maresca argued. “So us, as a manager, we struggle to understand why they judge in a different way.
“Moisés’s is a red card, yes. Bentancur’s is a red card, yes. Why don’t they give him a red card? It’s just that we struggle to understand. The reality is that it’s a red card. But why do they judge it differently?”
