Gallagher: Swans Shouldn’t Have Had Penalty Against Chelsea
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has had his say on last weekends events at Stamford Bridge, claiming that the Swans’ should not have had a penalty for what looked like a handball by Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
Gallagher, who refereed in the Premier League until 2007, gives Sky Sports his opinion on controversial refereeing decisions every week.
When asked about Neil Swarbrick’s decision not to award Gylfi Sigurdsson a penalty, he said:
Right decision. His arm is already up and beside him, and the players are so close he has no chance of getting out of the way. He hasn’t moved his arm to the ball.
The opinion will not sit well with Swans’ fans, who were left aggrieved leaving Stamford Bridge on Saturday having been denied the opportunity to go 2-1 up against the league leaders. It was in fact the home side who took the lead just two minutes later, before adding a third goal later on.
It didn’t take long for the Twitter universe to have their say on the decision, and it wasn’t just Swans’ fans who thought Paul Clement’s side were hard done by:
Twitter: STONEWALL PENALTY TO SWANSEA!! WHAT A JOKE! (@Trevorlloyd92)
Twitter: How was that penalty for Swansea not given.. (@ugostweets)
Twitter: Blatant hand ball not given! Swansea shud have got a penalty. Chelsea were lucky. (@deludedpashya)
Chelsea fans, however, were quick to remind us of THAT controversial Leroy Fer goal in the reverse fixture, where Fer caught Gary Cahill in possession before slotting past Courtois…
Twitter: Yeah Swansea maybe should have had a penalty but their second goal back in September shouldn’t have stood so ?☕️ (@YAH_xo)
Chelsea went on to win the game 3-1, with Paul Clement unhappy with the manner in which his side had lost the game.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of positives for Swansea to take from the game, who managed to compete with a Chelsea side who have well and truly wiped the floor with some other teams this season.
Should the Swans have had a penalty on Saturday? Let us know on Twitter at @ReadSwansea!