Chelsea player Thiago Silva was fortunate to avoid receiving a red card during the Blues’ match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
In the west London team’s first Premier League game under new manager Graham Potter, it was a difficult game to witness for the fans. Odsonne Edouard handed Palace the early advantage, and things could have gotten worse when Silva extended an arm to stop Jordan Ayew from charging towards the goal.
The Brazilian international was given a yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh, and the original judgement was upheld following a VAR review to see if Silva had prevented Palace from having a clean chance to score.
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The decision angered Palace supporters, and things only got worse for Patrick Vieira’s team when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the equalizer and Conor Gallagher, a former Palace loanee, won the game for Chelsea with a late goal .
The blues boss Graham Potter gave a honest verdict on the entire incident and he admitted that Viera was right to loose his cool.
As reported by the Daily Express, he said:
“I thought it was touch and go. The fact he was quite far from the goal saved him and it could’ve gone the other way. It’s a close one, I can understand Patrick’s frustration. It’s a 50-50 one.”
As several Palace players objected to the referee’s decision to show the Chelsea player a yellow card, Palace boss Vieira also expressed his disagreement with the decision. Although there were protests, referee Kavanagh upheld his initial decision.
Silva not only avoided receiving a straight red, but also contributed to the visitors’ equaliser. The former PSG player assisted Aubameyang in scoring by winning a header on the edge of the Palace area and setting him up to score.
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Silva’s red card would have resulted in the Blues’ third dismissal of the 2022–23 campaign.
Towards the end of a defeat against Leeds United, Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off for receiving a second booking, while Conor Gallagher received two bookings during the first half of the Blues’ victory over Leicester City in August.
