Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino implies Premier League has double standards with one rule after Luke Shaw incident

Mauricio Pochettino admits Luke Shaw should have been sent off in Chelsea 2-1 defeat to Manchester United

Mauricio Pochettino was angry with the match official during the Chelsea game against Manchester United and felt United left-back Luke Shaw should have been sent off. The Argentine manager said it was unfair from the official side when Shaw kicked the ball away early in the second half after conceding a throw-in on the near touchline.

However, the England international was instead cautioned by the referee; the 51-year-old felt it should have been a booking for the fullback, who could have been sent off, which might have changed the match. Nonetheless, the Blues succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of United, despite having plenty of opportunities.

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw.
Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw.

Surprisingly, Chelsea players have received the most bookings in the games; they have been shown the second-most yellow cards in the Premier League (47), something the players will have to work on to avoid unnecessary cards.

But when the Argentine manager was questioned about Chelsea’s discipline, he brought up the Shaw incident, (h/t Football.London), and told the press:

“But to be fair, Luke Shaw should have been sent off in 47 or 48 minutes. Without Conor Gallagher, we played 60 minutes against Brighton with one less. I invite you to watch the game from the start of the second half.”

Mauricio Pochettino instructs players from touchline. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Mauricio Pochettino instructs players from touchline. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Shaw was worth booking because when a player does anything unfair in the game, these little things go missing. However, considering the number of opportunities we produced, we should have won the game even without Shaw’s indiscretionary conduct. However, Pochettino believes that these minor details can alter the outcome of a game and that the fullback may have received a second yellow card from the referee.

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In addition, we must improve our own self-control throughout the games since players have been given unnecessary yellow cards, which they must avoid. This was evident against Brighton & Hove Albion when Conor Gallagher was sent off, which meant we had to try hard to stop him from scoring.