Gary Lineker and Ian Wright slam ‘ridiculous’ decision to send off West Ham’s Fabian Balbuena ‘for kicking the ball’ after defender catches Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell following his clearance
- Gary Lineker and Ian Wright slammed the decision to send Fabian Balbuena off
- Defender was bizarrely shown red after catching Ben Chilwell in follow through
- Referee Chris Kavanagh checked the monitor and deemed a red card necessary
- Andros Townsend also felt Balbuena was sent off for simply clearing the ball
Gary Lineker and Ian Wright were among those to slam the decision to send Gabian Balbuena off in West Ham‘s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
The West Ham defender was shown a red card after VAR checked for serious foul play, despite the fact Balbuena only caught Chilwell in his follow through after clearing the ball.
Many watching were left baffled over the decision, believing Balbuena had been sent off for simply kicking the ball.
The decision to send Fabian Balbuena off against Chelsea was met with widespread criticism
The West Ham defender was punished for catching Ben Chilwell after clearing the ball
Chris Kavanagh checked the pitch side monitor and produced the red card for Balbuena
Gary Lineker tweeted: ‘Oh FFS, that is not a red card. He’s just clearing the ball. Ridiculous.’
Ian Wright posted: ‘Sent off for kicking the ball’ and added a string of crying laughter emojis.
Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend also took to Twitter to vent his rage at the latest VAR controversy.
‘I can’t believe it….. I’ve just witnessed a man get sent off by clearing the ball…. this has to stop….. THE GAMES GONE,’ Townsend tweeted.
Oliver Holt added: ‘Balbuena sent off at West Ham after referee consults replays. I don’t get this one.
‘Balbuena clears the ball and his follow through means his foot connects with Chilwell’s calf. Effectively been sent off for kicking the ball. Which is a new one, even this season.’
‘VAR just got a player sent off for kicking a football,’ Piers Morgan posted.
The incident came after VAR was yet again producing talking points during Liverpool’s draw with Newcastle earlier in the day.
Federico Fernandez appeared to elbow Diogo Jota in the face but escaped with only a yellow card despite VAR checking the incident, while Callum Wilson had a late goal harshly ruled out for handball.