Ex-Premier League Referee Explains Why VAR Didn't Cancel Tielemans' FA Cup Goal Against Chelsea
- Chelsea vs Leicester FA Cup final was not short of dramatic scenes as Blues stars took issue with Youri Tielemans' opener
- The Belgian found the back of the net with a 30-yard stunner to win the Foxes their first ever FA Cup title
- Ayoze Perez appeared to have handled the ball in the lead up to the goal but referee Michael Oliver brushed off the incident
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Former Premier League referee Peter Walton has defended VAR's decision not to rule out Youri Tielemans' FA Cup final stunner vs Chelsea.
Source: Getty Images
Tielemans' second-half goal proved the only difference during the tournament's final staged at Wembley Stadium on the evening of Saturday, May 15.
The midfielder scored 30-yard screamer, leaving Kepa Arrizabalaga who was in goal for Chelsea little or no chance to take care of it.
However, the resulting goal was not short of controversy as footages from the incident showed the ball hit Ayoze Perez's left-hand, via his knee.
However, speaking after the match, Walton explained Ayoze's handball incident did not create the goal scoring opportunity and would therefore not have been subjected to a VAR review.
"Personally, I don’t think it was a handball, the ball has deflected off Perez’s knee and just caught his arm. That in itself people may argue is handball, I don’t think it was," Walton said as cited by Metro UK.
"However, VAR would have not got involved in that incident because the actual goal scoring opportunity didn’t occur immediately when there was a potential handball. There were seven seconds or so between that potential handball and the ball hitting the back of the net," he added.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole have singled out Jorginho for blame following Chelsea's FA Cup heartbreak in the hands of Leicester City.
The Blues were out in search of their first silverware under Thomas Tuchel, having made it to the penultimate of the English competition.
However, Tuchel's wards fluffed the opportunity to lift the tournament at Wembley Stadium as they fell to a Youri Tielemans' stunner during the Saturday, May 15, meeting.
The Belgian unleashed an unstoppable 30-yard spectacular effort into the top corner shortly after the past hour mark to find the back of the net.
The solitary goal proved decisive at full-time as it was all it took for Leicester to earn their maiden FA Cup triumph.
Now, both Ferdinand and Cole singled out Jorginho for blame in the lead up to Tielemans' goal.
According to them, Jorginho should have done enough to close up on Tielemans and stop him from scoring.
Source: Legit.ng
