Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was disappointed. Not about why Moises Caicedo was out against Arsenal on Sunday, but about what he’s doing There is considered to be a lack of continuity.
You can see his point. Last month, Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was booked for a foul on Reece James, which the video assistant referee (VAR) agreed with. Yet when Caicedo was cautioned for a similar challenge on Mikel Merino a red card was intervened.
“It’s a red card, but why wasn’t Bentancur given a red card against Reece (James) when we were away to Spurs?” Maresca asked.
“So we, as a manager, struggle to understand why they judge differently.
“Moises’ has a red card, yes. Bentancur has a red card, yes. Why don’t they give him a red card? It’s just that we struggle to understand. The reality is that it is a red card. But why do they judge it differently?”
So, what was the difference?
Well, the results partly depend on who the VAR is – which makes consistency very difficult.
No two fouls are alike and there are subtle differences between them. Bentancur was really just moving forward, while Caicedo jumped a bit and had a slightly higher contact point.
Merino also had a pronounced buckle in his ankle, which VAR is looking for to indicate excessive force, and his boot had shifted back onto the turf.
In the case of Bentancur, the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel endorsed a yellow card for Bentancur by four votes to one, and unanimously endorsed no VAR intervention “on the grounds that the challenge was low, just a little late and careless”.
The KMI panel will support the decision to send Caicedo off but it won’t be long before another tackle of its type will be considered a mere yellow card.
The KMI panel has recorded 12 errors on serious foul reviews since the start of the 2023–24 season.
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