Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca insisted Bayern Munich defender Jonathan Tah should have been sent off for a first-half foul on João Pedro during Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League defeat in Munich.
“Need to See Blood?” – Maresca’s Fury at Referee After Bayern Loss
The incident occurred off the ball as Tah swung his arm into Pedro’s throat, leaving the Brazilian forward on the ground.
Referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez issued only a yellow card to Tah, a decision that prompted furious protests from Maresca, who received a yellow card for his complaints.
After the match, Maresca revealed the referee told him the challenge was “not aggressive enough” to warrant a red card.
“For me it’s a clear red card,” Maresca stated.
“When there is no intention to go for the ball, just to kick the player, why is it not a red card? The referee said to me because it was not hard or aggressive enough.
But in any case you try, so to give a red card they need to see blood or something?”.
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany saw the incident differently, suggesting Tah was initially fouled.
“I wanted a foul the other way – I thought his shirt got pulled and he was trying to free himself,” Kompany said.
“As a defender, you just want to shake him off”.
Tah defended his actions after the match: “If I had hit him in the face then yes. But no. I can understand the yellow card, it was the right decision”.
Despite the controversy, Chelsea suffered a defeat in their Champions League return with goals from Harry Kane (two) and a Trevoh Chalobah own goal sealing their fate. Cole Palmer scored a spectacular consolation for the Blues.
Maresca admitted the result might have been different with a red card but praised his team’s performance against the German giants: “Personally I’m happy with the performance. We knew how difficult it would be to come here against this team”.
