Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was left dumbfounded after his former side were denied a clear first half penalty during Saturday’s heavyweight Premier League clash against Manchester United.
A largely subdued opening half sprang to life during the closing stages with Edouard Mendy nearly putting through his own net with a stray pass, but responded well to that shaky moment, producing smart stops from Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata.
Chelsea, however, should have been afforded the opportunity to open the scoring from the penalty spot when Harry Maguire prevented Cesar Azpilicueta from getting a head to Ben Chilwell free-kick.
Replays showed the United skipper effectively put his Chelsea counterpart in a headlock and wrestled him to the floor. VAR, however, refused to intervene and allowed play to continue, much to the astonishment of Hasselbaink.
‘It’s 100% (a penalty) because what is Maguire doing? If you see it Maguire is just strangling Cesar Azpilicueta! He stops him from jumping, he’s putting his weight on his shoulders.’
Fellow pundit Patrice Evra agreed and likened Maguire’s antics to those of WWE legend Hulk Hogan, saying: ‘I used to watch wrestling and even Hulk Hogan would do this kind of move.
‘This is a clear penalty that’s why VAR, again we can talk all day about that but this is a clear penalty to Chelsea.’
Evra’s former team-mate Gary Neville thought the decision was less clear cut, although he admitted it looked worse than the trip on Rashford by Thiago Silva at the opposite end of the pitch which was reviewed by VAR.
Neville said: ‘Azipilicueta just gets in between Lindelof and Maguire and, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink says it looks like he’s strangling Azpilicueta, and I think it is.
‘It’s more resting on him rather than pulling him back. Azpiliceuta will feel aggrieved it’s more of a penalty than the one at the other end.’
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