CHELSEA fans rejoiced there was no VAR as they escaped an early penalty scare at Middlesbrough.
There was less than a minute on the clock in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg when the Blues were almost made to pay for Levi Colwill’s error.
His loose touch enabled Emmanuel Latte Lath to race into the box with the ball.
And as he got his tame shot away, Axel Disasi came flying across with a reckless sliding tackle – just hours after Mauricio Pochettino told his players to be more aggressive.
Disasi got none of the ball and clattered into the Boro striker, who needed treatment and limped off a few minutes later, replaced by butcher’s son Josh Coburn.
But Chelsea supporters watching the clash at the Riverside on TV were relieved to see the referee not give the spot kick.
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And due to their opponents being in the Championship, there is no VAR for the Carabao Cup semis to “maintain fairness”.
Therefore, there was no one at Stockley Park to tell the official to watch a replay on a pitchside monitor and overturn his decision.
One fan said: “Thank God there was no VAR.”
Another wrote: “Reckless challenge tbh.”
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A third added: “Second replay showed that Disasi did not get the ball, but actually tackled Latte Lath.”
A fourth joked: “Referees forgetting to blow their whistle because they are too used to VAR doing their jobs now.”
And a final user quipped: “Fair play to Chelsea, they know the referees are useless enough on their own so as soon as there’s no VAR they’re fouling everyone.”
However, not everyone was in agreement that the last-ditch tackle by Disasi was a foul.
One replied: “It was never a pen.”
And another agreed: “Fans crying for a penalty – it was never a penalty and VAR wouldn’t have helped overturn that decision.”
Middlesbrough gaffer Michael Carrick – who was already without 12 players through injury before kick-off – could not believe his luck when Alex Bangura also had to be substituted inside 20 minutes, taking the tally to 14 crocked men.
Cole Palmer missed a gilt-edged chance to fire Chelsea in front but grabbed his low shot wide.
And Boro fans forgot about their penalty appeals ten minutes before the break when Hayden Hackney tucked in the opener, sparking bedlam at the Riverside.
Palmer put another simple effort over and saw a third well saved by Tom Glover.
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And those misses proved crucial as Boro held on for a 1-0 win to take to Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
