Nobody can blame referee Anthony Taylor for missing an incident or two during the fever Premier League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea on Sunday.
The referee on the pitch had 22 excited players charging across the pitch as well as 60,000 feverish fans to deal with. Between three goals in the first 17 minutes, countless defensive mistakes and a new pair of boots for ChelseaMarc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo’s controversial challenge slipped Taylor’s radar.
More surprisingly, Caicedo’s crunching connection with Pape Sarr’s lower leg received a stamp of approval from video assistant referee Jarred Gillett.
During the contest, the Official account of Match Center X of the Premier League gave a vague explanation for why Caicedo stayed on the pitch, posting: “The VAR checked for a possible red card after a tackle by Caicedo on Sarr and upheld the call of the referee not to play a serious foul”.
According to Law 12 of the Official handbook of the FAserious foul play is considered a red card offense when a player “rushes at an opponent to challenge the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the security of an adversary”. .
Sky Sports commentators have the luxury of listening to the radio dialogue between officials. Peter Drury revealed that the VAR concluded that Caicedo’s powerful lunge “was of excessive force”.
Caicedo was not booked by the referee on the pitch and the VAR can only recommend red cards, rather than handing out any yellows.
Ultimately, what constitutes “excessive force” is a subjective decision. VAR Gillett agreed with Taylor, but judging by the reaction on social media, these two crucial individuals were in the minority.
Yes, it should have been a red card for Caicedo after a dangerous tackle on Sarr.
How he ended up not getting any bookings for this is beyond me. pic.twitter.com/mMzsEiHlez
— Has the referee or VAR made a bad decision? (@PoorEPL Referees) December 8, 2024
The VAR has absolutely botched it.
Caicedo gets away with so many horrible tackles… it’s crazy.
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) December 8, 2024
The guys in the VAR room obviously knew it should have been red for Caicedo, but they’re enjoying the game too much at Stockley Park and didn’t want to spoil it, fair play.
— Alfie | HITC Sevens (@HITCSevens) December 8, 2024
