Chelsea’s draw with Bournemouth saw referee Robert Jones make Premier League history, Enzo Maresca will be fuming

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Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday was action-packed.

It had everything: goals, a penalty and a VAR moment that has proven to be very controversial and perhaps costly for Chelsea.

In the end, Enzo Maresca will be relieved with the result. Chelsea were minutes away from losing until Reece James levelled things up in the 95th minute with a brilliant free-kick. James has since spoken about his wonderful goal.

However, Maresca will also be frustrated after watching his side throw away another lead and seeing referee Robert Jones make a really disputable decision.

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Robert Jones rejects red-card review at monitor

Jones had a big decision to make when he went to the VAR monitor in the 53rd minute after a recommendation for an on-field review.

It came after a clash between David Brooks and Marc Cucurella, which could have seen the former sent off for violent conduct.

But after watching a replay of the incident, Jones decided that Brooks’ action was more reckless then violent, handing him a yellow card instead of a red.

It was the first time a referee has rejected a red-card review at the monitor since VAR was introduced in the Premier League in 2019.

As Chelsea drop even more points, Maresca will look back at the game and feel Jones’ controversial decision played a part in that, as Brooks could have easily been sent off for violent conduct and left Bournemouth down to 10 men on another day.

What has Enzo Maresca said about the David Brooks and Marc Cucurella incident?

Understandably, Maresca was not happy with Jones’ after the game. For the Chelsea manager, Brooks had to be sent off.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, which has been relayed by Sky Sports, Maresca said: “I said many times, for me, if there is no intention to take the ball, it’s a red. They have to explain [it]. If they give a yellow, that means something happened.

“So, how can they judge that it was not dangerous? You cannot judge that it was not dangerous. The intention was just to go against Marc Cucurella. In my opinion, it’s a red. Hopefully, we can be more lucky with the referee in the future.”

Thanks to James’ late strike and Brentford managing to hold Manchester City to a draw, Chelsea were able to keep their place in the top four. But if the Blues keep on dropping points as they have done in recent weeks, then that is going to quickly change.