Premier League release statement on Tottenham vs Chelsea controversy
Rodrigo Bentancur was somewhat fortunate to avoid being issued a red card in Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.
Bentancur caught Reece James on the ankle in stoppage time of the first half of the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Chelsea prevailed 1-0 winners against Spurs.
Match referee Jarred Gillet issued Spurs midfielder Bentancur a yellow card, which VAR checked and agreed with.
Despite having all 11 players on the pitch, a lacklustre Tottenham side were unable to hit back as they fell to defeat in North London.
It means a continuation of Tottenham’s worrying home form under Thomas Frank, with the Lilywhites missing out on the chance to move into second place.
Premier League clarify Rodrigo Bentancur incident in Chelsea loss
Many felt Bentancur should have been issued a straight red card for his challenge on Chelsea defender James.
Thankfully referee Gillett was one of those who took the opposite view, as did his VAR team at Stockley Park.
The Premier League posted clarification on the incident in a statement via its Match Centre account on X during the game.
“The referee’s call of yellow card to Bentancur was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed to be a reckless challenge and not serious foul play,” the statement read.
The key part of that statement is “reckless challenge”, which means a yellow card was deemed more justified than a red card, which is associated with “serious foul play”.
Tottenham vs Chelsea match stats in full
Frank elected to go with Randal Kolo Muani in his starting lineup but Tottenham just struggled to get going on home soil.
Indeed, Frank’s side managed a measly one shot on target for Chelsea’s nine and, truth be told, the margin of defeat should have been greater.
| Tottenham | Chelsea | |
| 3 | Shots | 15 |
| 1 | Shots on target | 9 |
| 0.05 | Expected goals (xG) | 2.21 |
| 14 | Touches inside opposition box | 36 |
| 47.9% | Possession | 52.1% |
Spurs’ players were booed off at full-time and it is little surprise when considering they generated an expected goals (xG) return of just 0.05 to Chelsea’s 2.21.
This was another hugely disappointing result on home soil and, while Spurs remain in a health third place in the table, it is clear there are still plenty of issues for Frank to fix.
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