Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo escaped an early red card against Liverpool despite pulling down Diogo Jota inside his own half at Anfield.
Adarabioyo was guilty of fouling Jota after the forward burst in front of him to meet a long ball in the fifth minute and looked certain to be handed his marching orders.
But despite the centre back being the last man, replays showed the floated pass over the top was dropping toward the side of the pitch, suggesting a goal-scoring opportunity – an offence leading to a sending-off – had not been denied.
The offence shared similarities to William Saliba’s dismissal in Arsenal‘s 2-0 defeat by Bournemouth yesterday – leaving supporters bemused at the lack of consistency.
Saliba was adjudged to have been the last man when bringing down Evanilson at Vitality Stadium, leading to him being brandished a straight red card.
The key difference between the two incidents, however, was that Levi Colwill was deemed to have been covering for Adarabioyo as Jota sprinted forward.
On Saturday, Saliba had dropped back after a lapse loose ball but the officials did not believe Ben White, the nearest defender, was close enough to dash back.
Saliba was initially given just a yellow card by Robert Jones, though the referee upgraded his decision to a red after being advised to check his pitchside monitor.
The Frenchman will now serve a one-match suspension – ironically, at Anfield.
Jota was forced off with an injury he appeared to pick up in his tussle with Adarabioyo but Liverpool took the lead through Mohamed Salah’s cool penalty.
Former Premier League official Mike Dean believes the decision not to send off Adarabioyo was the correct one because of the last-man rule.
‘So clumsy from Tosin,’ Dean said, speaking during Sky Sports’ live coverage.
‘[Levi] Colwill is close to it as the ball moves away. There’s too much doubt involved there, the ball is going towards the assistant referee.
‘Completely different for me it’s the right decision.’
