- Madueke had to be dragged away from the referee after full-time on Saturday
- He was furious after Chelsea’s injury time winner had been ruled out by VAR
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Noni Madueke had to be dragged away from referee Craig Pawson after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening.
Madueke and his team-mates thought they had secured a 96th-minute winner when Axel Disasi headed home from close range to make it 3-2 in their favour.
However, the goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check that saw Pawson consult the pitch-side monitor.
Pawson ruled the goal out after claiming Benoit Badiashile had shoved Diego Carlos in the back in the build-up to the goal.
Madueke was furious with the decision and wanted to make his feelings known after the final whistle at Villa Park.
Madueke stormed straight up to Pawson and began shouting in his face before being restrained by Chelsea coach Jesus Perez.
Madueke and Benoit Badiashile could reportedly be heard saying ‘it’s wrong, you know it’s wrong. You know it. You know it!’ while pointing at Pawson.
Disasi, who scored the disallowed last-gasp goal, tried to calm Madueke down by grabbing him and walking him away from the situation.
However, it was a little too late as Pawson was less than impressed with Madueke’s behaviour and awarded him a yellow card before speaking to Cole Palmer.
Palmer appeared to plead with Pawson before being escorted away by Chelsea’s backroom staff.
Once tensions had settled, Madueke was asked about the 96th-minute goal. He told BBC Sport: ‘Should it have been three points? Yes.’
The 22-year-old went on to add: ‘Do I think the goal should have stood? Yes. Nothing else to say about the situation.’
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was equally as unimpressed and said VAR is ‘damaging English football’ after his side were denied the injury-time winner.
‘Everyone that was watching the game will feel disappointed,’ Pochettino said on TNT Sports after the game.
‘Two different things the referee said it was a foul and disallowed the goal and then going to the VAR to confirm.
‘The referee is unbelievable and it’s ridiculous. It is difficult to accept, these type of things in the semi-final [FA Cup against Man City] two weeks ago it was handball and it was no penalty, the referee he didn’t check it.
‘It is painful as it has damaged English football and I think Villa players and their fans didn’t understand why the goal was disallowed.
‘They said it was foul and if you see the challenge what happened if we go into every single challenge like this it is going to be a foul and we wouldn’t finish the game with 11 [players].
‘We can talk about the performance or the decision – it is damaging the game. I am calm and it is only to help. Now, we have to move on and it will be in the headlines with the disallowed goal.’
It had seemed like it was going to be another night to forget as Marc Cucurella’s own goal and a Morgan Rogers strike put Villa 2-0 up at the break.
But Chelsea responded well and drew level through Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher before the injury-time drama.
Villa will perhaps feel they got away with one, despite leading the game 2-0 at the interval.
Aiming to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition for the first time, they were primed to move nine points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham but looked leggy and not at their best.
The draw has opened the door to Spurs, who have three games in hand, but Villa will still be favourites to finish in fourth as the north London club have Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City still to play.
Pochettino will be pleased with his side’s performance and they still have a chance to qualify for Europe if they can finish an inconsistent season strongly.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
