Chelsea
defender Marc Cucurella says Cristian Romero's hair pull on him was "clear"
as day - and branded the decision not to punish the Tottenham defender as a
"referee and VAR error".
Last weekend's Super Sunday clash between Chelsea and Tottenham descended
into drama as Romero was not penalised for tugging on Cucurella's hair as
Spurs attacked a corner. From the resulting phase of play, Harry Kane headed
home a late corner to equalise for 2-2, with managers Antonio Conte and
Thomas Tuchel clashing at full-time.
Chelsea boss Tuchel says both of Tottenham's goals last weekend should not
have stood and Cucurella believes referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Mike Dean
made a mistake in not punishing the Tottenham defender.
"For me it is too clear in the game, on the pitch," Cucurella told a press
conference when asked about the incident. "I didn't see it on the TV, the
video. I think it's very clear, but this is one error of the referee or VAR.
"Sometimes the referees have good decisions, sometimes not. This is not my
problem. Maybe we need to work harder to not concede this goal in the last
minute.
"I saw [VAR] checking for a red card in the stadium. For me it is clear. In
this moment, I don't know what happened."
Cucurella also joked that his hair is fine and he will never consider
changing his style - and added there were no hard feelings towards Tottenham
defender Romero.
"I have no problem with him," the Spaniard added. "It's just one action of
the game but maybe it was important because it changed the final result.
"For me it's no problem. Before the game I spoke with him [Romero]. I have
no problem. It's only one action in the game. Maybe an important action
because it changes the final result. We have another opportunity [to beat
Spurs]."
Romero to avoid retrospective action for hair pull
Romero will not face retrospective action for the incident late in the game
on Sunday - as pulling a player's hair is not considered an offence in
football's laws.
Retrospective action can only be given when both the match and video
officials fail to spot an incident on the pitch in real time and do not
mention it in their post-match report.
Had referee Taylor spotted the incident in real time, then the correct
course of action would have been a free-kick to Chelsea, leaving Spurs
unable to score from that specific attack.
Unlike rugby, football laws do not specifically mention hair-pulling. The
officials must decide whether the extent of the hair pulling is forceful
enough to be considered violent conduct.
If it is not, then it would probably be considered unsporting behaviour and
result in a yellow card.
Tuchel: Taylor shouldn't referee Chelsea games | 'Where was VAR?'
In his post-match press conference, Tuchel felt referee Taylor should not be
allowed to referee Chelsea games anymore after Sunday's performance.
In relation to the first Tottenham goal, Chelsea felt there was a foul on
Kai Havertz in the build-up. Taylor disagreed.
Referees have been told there is a higher threshold for fouls this season to
help with the flow of games. However, VAR did not look closely at the foul
because it wasn't deemed to be in the same attacking phase of play as
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's goal.
A potential interference by Richarlison, who was standing in an offside
position when Hojbjerg struck the ball, was looked at. It was decided his
position had no negative impact on goalkeeper Edouard Mendy's position.
Asked whether Taylor should never referee Chelsea again, the German replied:
"Maybe it would be better.
"But honestly, we also have VAR to help make the right decisions. Since when
can players be pulled at their hair? Since when is that? If he does not see
it, I don't blame him.
"I didn't see it, but we have people at VAR who check this. How can this not
be a free-kick and how can it not be a red card? How?
"This has nothing to do with the referee in this case. If he does not see
something, that's why we have people to check if there's a decisive error
going on."
Since the match, Tuchel and Conte have both been charged with a breach of FA
Rule E3. It is alleged that the behaviour of both managers was improper
following the end of the fixture, with the pair having until Thursday to
provide their respective responses.
Meanwhile, VAR official Dean has not been selected for a Premier League
fixture this weekend after last Sunday's controversial ending. Referee
Taylor, meanwhile, will take charge of West Ham vs Brighton on Sunday.
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