Marc Cucurella cannot understand why Cristian Romero was not censored for pulling his hair in the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
But Chelsea 's £62 million wing-back insists he will NOT be cutting his splendid tumbleweed despite the incident. Cucurella, who signed a six-year contract with Chelsea earlier this month, made an impressive home debut in the controversial 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.
The former Brighton defender was involved in a flashpoint during added time, moments before Harry Kane's 96th-minute equaliser for Spurs, when Romero tugged his bountiful mane – hard enough for Cucurella to hit the deck. Neither referee Anthony Taylor nor VAR Mike Dean saw fit to intervene, leaving Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel to rage: “Since when has it been permitted to pull an opponent's hair?”
As Cucurella was formally unveiled at the Blues' Cobham training ground, he admitted Romero's sharp tug hurt, adding: “For me it's clear (what happened). I don't know what happened but sometimes the referee makes a good decision, sometimes it's bad but this is football and it's not my problem - my focus is on the game.
“Maybe it's not an important action because it doesn't affect the final result, but we meet again in a few months and this is another opportunity. I knew the Tottenham was a derby, and the games with them are always difficult, but the team played really good and we created more chances to win the game.” When asked if he'd cut his mane, he replied: "No. Never. This is my style."
It is a nonsense that such brazen foul play – Romero's tug on Cucurella's barnet was as blatant as a steam engine driver pulling the whistle cord in his locomotive cab – should go unpunished, but there have been precedents involving hair-pulling with impunity.
If you had hair like Cucurella, would you ever cut it? Let us know here
In the Championship 18 months ago, Cardiff and Watford players were embroiled in a rumble after the final whistle of the Hornets' 2-1 win in Wales.
Bluebirds boss Mick McCarthy branded Watford defender Francisco Sierralta a “big coward” for pulling Aden Flint's hair and running away.
The Chilean international's behaviour appeared to be retaliation after Flint had grabbed Sierralta's 'man-bun' at a corner without censure during the game.
