Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior was furious to learn why VAR had allowed Leeds’ equaliser to stand during his post-match interview after Tuesday’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues, who had cruised to a two-goal lead through Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, squandered their advantage after conceding twice in six minutes midway through the second half, missing the chance to leapfrog Manchester United into fourth place.
After Lukas Nmecha halved the deficit for Leeds from the penalty spot, Noah Okafor scored a scrappy equaliser to restore parity, despite the ball appearing to strike Jayden Bogle in the build-up.
VAR reviewed the incident and awarded the goal to the frustration of Chelsea’s players and manager Rosenior.
During his post-match interview with TNT Sports reporter Olivia Buzaglo, Rosenior was left even angrier after learning that VAR had deemed the incident a ‘non-deliberate handball’.
Rosenior said, huffily: ‘The rule is the rule. From my understanding, if there is any handball in the lead up to a goal, it should be disallowed. If they’ve said that, then someone explain the rules to me because they need to help the referee.
Liam Rosenior was furious to learn why VAR allowed Leeds’ equaliser to stand on Tuesday
Noah Okafor scored a scrappy equaliser for Leeds despite the ball appearing to strike Jayden Bogle (above) in the build-up to the goal, leading to Chelsea drawing 2-2 at Stamford Bridge
During his post-match interview with TNT Sports reporter Olivia Buzaglo (above), Rosenior was left even angrier after learning that VAR had deemed the incident a ‘non-deliberate handball’
‘You saying that has got me angrier because that’s unacceptable if they’ve come with that judgement.’
Despite labelling VAR’s reasoning as unacceptable, Rosenior admitted his team needed to shoulder the responsibility of crumbling after ‘switching off’ midway through the second half.
‘Six minutes. Six minutes of switching off. We were in complete control of the game,’ Rosenior said.
‘I don’t want to talk about the football we played, if we want to make sure we get to level where I think we can be, we’ve got to switch on for 90 minutes. It’s as simple as that.
‘I thought that some of the football we played was excellent and we should come away with three points. We give Leeds a point, gift them a point.’
Shortly after Okafor’s controversial equaliser was awarded, the Premier League Match Centre posted on social media: ‘The referee’s call of goal to Leeds United was checked and confirmed by VAR – with there deemed to be no handball offence by Bogle in the build-up.’
Fans angrily took to social media to protest the decision, which saw Chelsea’s four-match winning run in the Premier League come to an end.
‘How is that no handball? Are you okay? Not even a Chelsea fan but it’s clear hand,’ one fan said.
The Premier League Match Centre confirmed ‘no handball offence was made’ after the incident
Fans angrily took to social media to protest the decision, labelling VAR’s verdict ‘comical’
A second added: ‘”Accidental handball”. Chelsea have been robbed.’
A third supporter wrote: ‘Clear handball leads to them gaining advantage in a scramble. Terrible, woeful, abysmal, abhorrent, horrific defending of course but this goal shouldn’t stand whatsoever.’
Another posted: ‘I have to say Chelsea were hard done by last night. How this wasn’t given as a handball is comical, VAR is the laughing stock yet again.’
Chelsea will look to get back to winning ways when they face Hull in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, before returning to face Burnley at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League the following weekend.
