Football fans were left bewildered when Thiago Silva was not sent off for intentional handling against Crystal Palace.
A Chelsea defender intentionally pulled the ball away from Jordan Ayew by sticking his arm out while Palace were attacking.
The incident happened when Silva, 38, faced Ayew’s challenge and was slammed to the ground.
He thought he deserved a free-kick, but when the whistle didn’t go off, he pushed the ball away from Ayew’s feet with his hands.
The crowd expected a red card as Silva appeared to be in position to score.
But to Selhurst Park’s dismay, referee Chris Kavanagh only gave Silva a yellow.
VAR reviewed the incident to see if Silva missed a goal opportunity, but stuck with Cabana’s on-the-field judgment.
Fans couldn’t believe that Silva hadn’t been reprimanded, with one fan writing on social media: “Clear red card for Thiago Silva.”
He also added: “How was Thiago Silva? That was a clear red and we’re checking VAR as well.”
A third added, “That’s 10000% a red for Thiago Silva.”
And a fourth wrote, “Why didn’t VAR give Thiago Silva a red after seeing that play?”
Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parrish tweeted: “Honestly what’s the point of #Var?”, “We change what he does and thinks every week” .
I’m sure “#va” thinks it’s red but not a ‘clear’ mistake! I did it twice on purpose, and I’m playing once, so it’s two yellows! ”.
To make matters worse, Silva assisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s equalizer.
The veteran defender headed the ball and the striker beat Vincente Guaita.
Before that, Odsonne Edouard scored to put the home side ahead, but Graham Potter’s regime continued to get off to a shaky start.
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