Jamie Carragher said that “it is not right” and vehemently denounced the choice to award Manchester City a penalty against Chelsea. After Marc Cucurella knocked down Erling Haaland in the first half, the defending Premier League winners were given a spot kick. The first event was so unclear that it confused onlookers at Stamford Bridge.
The incident was examined by VAR, who looked into whether the Norwegian striker had fouled the Chelsea player prior to the takedown, potentially igniting a discussion. The original ruling was upheld in spite of the criticism, which led former Liverpool defender Carragher to doubt the officiating team’s judgment.
Carragher expressed his dissatisfaction on Sky Sports, saying, “This is not right.” That seems like half of one, half a dozen on the other between Haaland and Cucurella, so I believe that’s harsh. He underlined that VAR ignored the beginning of the fight, in which Haaland grabbed Cucurella’s shirt, and only concentrated on the conclusion of the struggle.
Carragher’s criticism comes at a difficult time for Premier League officials and VAR, as managers like Mikel Arteta have been vocal about their disapproval of recent contentious rulings.
Haaland’s successful conversion was his 12th Premier League goal of the season, despite the controversial penalty call. But, Thiago Silva’s equalizing goal from a corner and Raheem Sterling’s goal for Chelsea put City down the score before halftime.
The match developed drastically, with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez blocking Haaland’s shot and City leveling the score before halftime thanks to a magnificent header from Manuel Akanji, despite Carragher’s belief that the referee favored City and Haaland. The game’s unexpected shifts highlighted the ongoing discussions about the validity of referee calls and the effect of video assistant replays on Premier League match results.
