According to reports in the Guardian, Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic is set to miss the Capital One Cup final against Tottenham despite the Blues’ decision to lodge an appeal to the FA over the Serbian’s red card against Burnley in the weekend. Matic was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson for pushing over Ashley Barnesn in the 1-1n draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Atkinson had failed to spot Barnes’ horrific tackle on Matic which prompted the reaction from Matic. Chelsea though are fuming that the FA will not be taking any action against Barnes and have opted to appeal Matic’s sentence on the grounds of excessive sentence. However, the decision might not be over turned and even if it is reduced, the Serbian will miss the final at Wembley against cross city rivals Tottenham.
There was also a controversy in Spurs’ 2-2 draw against West Ham on Sunday when Jan Vertonghen reacted to a challenge from Mark Noble on Nabil Bentaleb in that game. The Belgian defender reacted by pushing Noble to the ground but neither player was punished. As things stand, Vertonghen is set to start Sunday’s showpiece final.
Chelsea have until 1pm on Tuesday to submit their evidence and are pursuing the claim with the backing of their owner Roman Abramovich. The Blues are considering to cite a number of other incidents this season as they back their claim in an attempt to rescind Matic’s three game ban.
Earlier former referees’ chief, Keith Hackett slammed Atkinson’s shambolic decision making in the game, “Martin Atkinson’s performance in the Chelsea versus Burnley game was not worthy of any referee at any level. It was an incompetent display and one of the worst I have ever seen in a game of football.”
Writing in his blog, Hackett said, “In the 30th minute, Burnley’s Ashley Barnes committed a foul challenge on Branislav Ivanovic. It was penalised by Atkinson, but to my amazement there was no disciplinary sanction. Barnes should have been dismissed, as it was a clear red card offence.”
“Why did Atkinson not sanction with a red card? It is the question his boss Mike Riley, general manager and a director of the PGMOL, should be asking. The PGMOL manager will no doubt respond in the usual manner by keeping silent. He is currently responsible for the rapid decline in refereeing standards that we are witnessing.”
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