Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca questioned the consistency of Premier League referees after Moisés Caicedo’s red card against Arsenal brought back memories of a similar incident which went against his side earlier this season.
The Blues put on a thoroughly impressive showing in Sunday’s 1–1 draw with Arsenal and could have easily walked away with three points had it not been for the first-half dismissal of Caicedo, who was deservedly shown a red card after catching Mikel Merino high on his ankle.
Maresca had no issues with the decision to send Caicedo off but asked how officials could see that challenge as worthy of a red card but not a similar challenge from Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur, who was spared an early bath by VAR when he caught Blues captain Reece James one month ago in a 1–0 victory.
“I just said there, he asked me about Moisés’s red card. It’s a red card, but why was Bentancur’s against Reece not a red card when we were at Spurs away?” Maresca argued. “So us, as a manager, we struggle to understand why they judge in a different way.
“Moisés’s is a red card, yes. Bentancur’s is a red card, yes. Why don’t they give him a red card? It’s just that we struggle to understand. The reality is that it’s a red card. But why do they judge it differently?”
😲 "I'm lost for words... He's got to go!" 🟥@richardajkeys and Andy Gray believe Bentancur should have been shown a straight red for his challenge on Reece James. Agree?#beINPL #TOTCHE pic.twitter.com/EMvcwWLeyG
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 1, 2025
Piero Hincapié Fortunate to Avoid Red Card
Early in the second half, Chelsea felt frustrated with referee Anthony Taylor’s decision not to dismiss Arsenal defender Piero Hincapié, who was already on a yellow card by the time he caught Blues defender Trevoh Chalobah in the face.
While Hincapié’s elbow did not appear to be intentional, it left Chalobah with a black eye and visible swelling and Maresca was disappointed not to see the Ecuador international shown a second yellow at the very least.
“I asked the referee, he said to me that it was not an elbow,” Maresca revealed. “So, this is what they said.
“[Chalobah had a] black eye, with ice at half-time. But they judge in different way.”
James: Chelsea Could Have Beaten Arsenal
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Chelsea remained strong throughout. Chalobah’s opening goal gave the Blues a deserved lead which was soon cancelled out by a Merino header, but Maresca’s side managed more shots on goal and looked just as likely to find a winner as their league-leading opponents.
“I’m proud,” James told club media. “The team is so young, but we went toe-to-toe with the team at the top of the Premier League at the moment.
“We didn’t show fear and we tried to come out to win the game. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, but there were a lot of positives to take from the game. We knew the game was going to be tough, but to be honest it was a game we felt we probably could have won. It was difficult to only walk away with a point considering how well we did.
“We played 60 minutes with 10 men, having to cope with all of their players—they are a very good team, they’re the league leaders at the moment. We went toe-to-toe with them, so we have lots of good things to take away.
“We started sharp, we had a few early half-chances, but the game got more difficult when we went down to 10. We made a few changes and they were coming forward a lot, but we still felt we had the players and the quality to hurt them when we got the ball. We tried our best, now we have to take a point and move forward.”
READ THE LATEST CHELSEA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Why Do They Judge Differently?’—Enzo Maresca Slams Referees After Chelsea Held by Arsenal.
