“The referee’s right”- Former PL ref gives his verdict on controversy surrounding Chelsea star

Dermot Gallagher: It was the correct decision to not send off Chelsea star Thiago Silva vs Crystal Palace

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes it was the correct decision to not send off Chelsea defender Thiago Silva during their game against Crystal Palace last Saturday.

The Blues won the game 2-1, courtesy of beautiful strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and at the death by Conor Gallagher. However, there was one moment of controversy.

After 30 minutes of play with Palace leading, Silva slipped amid pressure from Jordan Ayew. The winger had space to run towards the goal but the Brazilian centre-back denied him the opportunity by pushing the ball away with his hand.

Chris Kavanagh, the referee went to the VAR screen and saw the incident. He decided it was not a red card offence and instead just showed a yellow card to the 38-year-old with much disbelief for Palace players and supporters.

Now, former referee Gallagher has come in defence of the decision. Speaking to Sky Sports News Ref Watch (h/t Football. London), the former official gave his explanation, justifying the referee’s judgement.

“I think it’s a yellow card and the referee’s right. I think it’s a possible goal scoring opportunity, not obvious. He [Ayew] has to get the ball, he has to go a long way towards goal. Will he be able to get there before the defender? It’s got to be obvious to send him [Thiago Silva] off. I think it’s possible to have a goal scoring opportunity but I don’t think it’s obvious, and the law says it has to be obvious.”

Even if Silva had not denied him the chance, it would be very likely that the player would have either missed or given away the ball. There were other defenders ready at the back and they would have easily caught up with the winger to deny him any chance of scoring.

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Graham Potter will hope such incidents do not happen in the next game. The Blues will host AC Milan this Wednesday for their Champions League group-stage game. Chelsea sits at the bottom of their group and a win could be necessary to ensure their survival in the competition.