Chelsea Dodge Bullet as Burnley Left Fuming Over Shocking Penalty Decision
Burnley boss Scott Parker was among numerous individuals at Turf Moor who were puzzled by the official's choice to ignore a penalty claim against Chelsea during Saturday's midday fixture.
The away team secured a 2-0 win in what proved to be a more challenging encounter than the final score indicated. The match remained scoreless when a significant number of Burnley players passionately appealed for a spot kick in the 28th minute.
During a goal kick for Chelsea, away keeper Robert Sánchez delivered the ball to Trevoh Chalobah, who crouched down and handled it with his palm. The Blues defender swiftly passed back to his goalkeeper before turning to confront the crowd of protesting home players in claret.
Official Peter Bankes signaled for play to continue, with no communication from the Premier League's match center regarding VAR official Rob Jones' assessment.
Parker confessed the moment escaped his attention initially. "Honestly, I wasn't even aware at the time. I completely missed it, so neither the official nor anyone else communicated with me," he explained, before noting, "However, I've just reviewed it and it certainly appears to be a penalty."
"The ball was active," Parker emphasized. "The goalkeeper had released it. His subsequent movement clearly showed the ball was in play. When examining the specifics, [Sánchez] places the ball, passes to the center-back [Chalobah] and then repositions himself, indicating the ball was live.
"I'm not being overly critical here, but that's precisely why VAR exists. Though I'm uncertain if it was reviewed or examined. It's simply one of those situations."
Such incidents have occurred with unusual regularity during the past 18 months. Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings was famously penalized for this identical violation in a Champions League match against Club Brugge last season, which manager Unai Emery described as "the most significant error I've observed in my career."
Arsenal, conversely, avoided this punishment during their Champions League quarterfinal versus Bayern Munich in April 2024. Gabriel committed the same offense, yet official Glenn Nyberg dismissed what he termed "a child's error." Thomas Tuchel, Bayern's manager at the time, was furious about this "enormous blunder."
Benoît Badiashile's Embarrassment Avoided by Official
Chalobah wasn't the sole Chelsea center-back to escape embarrassment. Benoît Badiashile, who replaced Reece James at the interval, blatantly prevented Maxime Estève from entering the penalty area at a corner by obstructing his path while gripping the goalpost. Since the ball wasn't in play, no infringement could be awarded—despite Badiashile receiving a caution—yet Parker questioned the referee's premature intervention.
"Regarding the incident in the penalty area, I'm unsure why he stopped play," the Burnley manager commented about the official. "Simply allow it to continue. Don't blow the whistle. Let the ball come into play. If someone commits a foul, then award the penalty."