An image from the most recent Chelsea game suggests that referee Simon Hooper may have made a mistake in not awarding Christian Pulisic a penalty.
The Blues were finally back in action in the Premier League after the winter World Cup and didn’t take long to hit their stride as they picked up all three points at home.
Indeed, first-half goals from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount were enough to seal a 2-0 win for Graham Potter’s men against Bournemouth on Tuesday evening.
However, things could have been made even easier for Chelsea had the referee pointed to the spot early on in the game when Pulisic seemed to be dragged inside the box as he tried to run through on goal.
TIF Thoughts on Chelsea…
As the image above shows, Bournemouth defender Adam Smith clearly has a hold of the American’s shirt. Pulisic did manage to get his shot away, but failed to hit the target as he fell to the ground.
Referee Hooper didn’t award a penalty and VAR opted against intervening as they presumably felt it wasn’t a big enough error. But when it’s so obvious that the Chelsea man was impeded, it’s certainly a questionable decision.
In the end, it didn’t really matter as the Blues still managed to pick up all three points. As a result, they sit eighth in the league, six points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fourth.
Do you think it should have been a penalty?
Yes
No
