Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has questioned why referee Stuart Attwell did not take action over stitches Naby Keita’s tackle during the Carabao Cup final.
The challenge left the defender needing stitches, though the 22-year-old recovered and converted a penalty before the Reds triumphed 11-10 in the shoot-out at Wembley Stadium.
Keita went unpunished for the tackle in the 58th minute, with VAR not used.
The Guinean missed the ball before catching Chalobah's inner thigh with his studs.
“Had to get stitches because of this,” Chalobah said on Twitter after the game, while attaching a video of the incident. “Referee is right there I don’t get it?”
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink argued on Sky Sports after the game that Keita deserved a red card.
“I’m surprised nothing has been said about it,” insisted Hasselbaink. “We are now looking at it but for me Keita’s movement, he slows down.
“Then he goes for the tackle. They both go for the ball but Keita totally misses the ball. If you look here he totally misses the ball and hits the player really hard.
“For me, that is endangering the opposition. Endangering the player and that should be a red card. I don’t understand that the referee didn’t see it.
“I don’t understand at all that VAR has not seen it because this is really bad. I’m very surprised, very, very surprised.”