Gary Neville has taken to Twitter to insist that the referee was justified in awarding Chelsea a second penalty yesterday evening against Rennes.
With Chelsea already leading 1-0 through a penalty given away by Rennes’ Dalbert and despatched by Timo Werner, hearts were thumping when the referee went to the VAR monitor to view a potential handball offence from the same offender.
Tammy Abraham’s shot bounced off the leg of Dalbert and onto his raised arm, with the referee opting to award a second penalty, show Dalbert a second yellow card and ultimately hand Chelsea all three points in doing so.
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As reported by the Daily Mail, Rio Ferdinand branded it an ‘absolute disgrace’, but his former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville appears to agree with the referee.
Neville sent out the belong series of tweets revealing his belief that it was indeed a penalty – but sending Dalbert off was a little harsh from the ref.
Am I the only one that thought the Chelsea pen was a pen? Why were his arms up there !!!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) November 5, 2020
No! But his arms were above his head at one point! Why?? https://t.co/OYHbIblhz2
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) November 5, 2020
I’ve seen some ridiculous handballs this season but one thing I have come to learn is if your arms are extended above your head it’s a definite penalty!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) November 5, 2020
I don’t agree with the yellow card. https://t.co/TvSA5zH7HA
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) November 5, 2020
Rules are rules, and Dalbert’s arm was in an unnatural decision. The reality is that people are jaded by harsh handball decisions, and this was the latest in a string of them.
The red card certainly didn’t help matters, either.