Enzo Maresca suggested the atmosphere at St James' Park may have influenced referee John Brooks's decision to send off Nicolas Jackson against Newcastle.
Jackson was shown a straight red card for thrusting his forearm into the face of Sven Botman, as Chelsea suffered a 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park to dent their hopes of securing Champions League qualification.
Referee John Brooks originally awarded Jackson a yellow card but was advised to watch a replay by his VAR and then upgraded the booking to a red card.
Jackson is now suspended for Chelsea’s final two Premier League matches against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, with the Blues likely to need to win both games to finish in the top five.
Asked for his thoughts on the referee changing his decision and showing Jackson a red card, Maresca replied: “The only thing I can say is that sometimes it’s too easy to take some decision in some stadiums. If the referee decides for red, it’s a red.
“Sometimes in this stadium, you have the feeling that some decisions are from the noise. Again, if the referee decides it’s a red card, it’s a red card.
“We have [had] a good run but my message was always the same to the players. The game is gone and finished. Think about the next one. Now today’s game is finished we need to be focused on Friday’s game [against United]. That is the next one.
“I think in the second half the team showed spirit, togetherness. I think it is from there we need to keep the same feeling, same energy for Friday’s game.”
Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella admitted after the match that Jackson had made a “big mistake”.
“He didn’t say anything,” said Cucurella, when asked how Jackson had reacted to his dismissal.
“I think he’s a bit upset. He wants to help the team but these things happen. With 11 players all the game, maybe we can do the comeback. Things can happen. Now we can’t do anything and we need to learn about this. All of the players are important.
“Now we lose Nico for the next games. It’s a big mistake, but the good thing is we have other players ready. All of us, we need to be important. Now is the moment to forget this game and think about the next one.”
