The inconsistency in the officiating so far this season has been ridiculous.
Pedro, Gary Cahill and David Luiz have all seen red so far this campaign for reckless challenges. There can be no denying that their dismissals were entirely justified, but when the shoe is on the other foot, opponents tend to get an easy ride from the referee.
That was proven once again as Chelsea faced Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Substitute Peter Crouch flew into Cesc Fabregas with his studs high on the Spaniard’s leg, but was only shown a yellow card.
Fabregas was lucky to have escaped unharmed from the challenge. The referees ought to focus less on finding an opportunity to send off Chelsea players and start protecting them better so they don’t end up sustaining serious injuries.
You can see a reply of the tackle below, it really was a shocker, and just a yellow card…
If Crouch wore a Chels shirt – this tackle would have been a red, aired and spoken about!@BBCMOTD – Think you missed this out! #CFC pic.twitter.com/w0W8VOHWB8
— MAD-P (@1michelle_payne) September 23, 2017