Rio Ferdinand questioned the referee’s decision to give Chelsea the second penalty and send off Rennes defender Dalbert for a second yellow card in the Blues’ comfortable win at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had been leading 1-0 thanks to Timo Werner’s penalty goal by the time referee Felix Zwayer awarded the home team another penalty and give the Rennes left-back his marching orders for a handball just a few minutes before half-time.
Werner, who has become Chelsea’s new designated penalty-taker, blasted the ball to the roof of the net and doubled their lead. With the away team a man down, the game eventually ended with a comfortable win for Frank Lampard’s men.
However, even some Chelsea fans would consider the penalty and the sending off a bit harsh.
Dalbert was trying to block Tammy Abraham’s shot when the ball deflected off his foot and touched his hand.
Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Ferdinand was clearly unimpressed by the decision.
“This is an absolute disgrace,” he told BT Sports (via the Daily Mail).
“The kid [Dalbert] doesn’t intentionally block the ball with his hands.
“The referee goes over to the screen, deliberates and still gives it. It baffles me.
“It’s a joke. It’s that close that he’s only going to block the ball with his feet.
“He ruined the game for me. I was absolutely flabbergasted. Then the red card topped it all off.”
Ferdinand added that the introduction of the new handball rule was completely unnecessary.
“All these rules are getting changed completely every year,” he added.
“The game was great before any of this came in. Why change something that was already great?
“We’re adding new, different rules that almost certainly create grey areas.”
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