Many Chelsea fans were left unhappy after Chris Kavanagh's decision not to send off Arsenal centre-back Gabriel in their 2-1 loss on 6 September.
On Wednesday, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel relooked at the incident. During the match, referee Kavanagh did not have a clear view of the incident due to his positioning and the number of players that were congested within the six-yard box. The video assistant referee, Darren England, didn't insist that Kavanagh take another look at it on the pitch-side monitor.
They believed that Gabriel had deliberately kicked Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the head when the two were scrambling on the floor in the penalty box, and Gabriel's foot connected with Martinez's head.
VAR reviewed the footage and deemed the incident unintentional, with the KMI stating: “Multiple players were on the ground competing for the loose ball, and the action of Gabriel was not deemed to be an act of violent conduct or serious foul play.”
Chelsea fans were not pleased with the decision for the Brazilian not to walk, after replays showed his follow-through to Martinez's head and there was no review taken, especially with the Blues coming out on the wrong side of the result. It proved crucial as Gabriel was at the heart of Arsenal's defending when they took the lead through Martin Odegaard early in the second half.
Post-match, Chelsea fans felt hard done by, arguing that if one of their own players had committed the same offence, a red card would have been shown. Given some of the recent refereeing decisions that have gone against the Blues, there was a feeling that the decision would have been different had the roles been reversed. A red card could also have changed the momentum of the game in Chelsea’s favour.
Although this wasn't the only controversial decision of the game, with Riccardo Calafiori's goal ruled out for offside, Kai Havertz's equaliser allowed to stand following a VAR check, both of these were voted 5-0 unanimously by the panel. Even though this wasn't looked at by the Video Assistant Referee, Chelsea fans online believed that Morgan Rogers had been fouled illegally in the build-up to Arsenal's winner.
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