Noni Madueke had to be pulled away by referee Craig Pawson after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday night.
Madueke and his teammates thought they had scored the winning goal in the 96th minute when Axel Disasi headed in from close range to make it 3-2 in their favor.
However, the goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review in which Pawson consulted the pitch monitor.
Pawson disallowed the goal after claiming that Benoit Badiashile had pushed Diego Carlos from behind in the lead-up to the goal.
Madueke was furious at the decision and wanted to make his feelings known after the final whistle at Villa Park.
Noni Madueke had to be removed from referee Craig Pawson after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw
The striker was angry because the ‘bleus’ were denied a goal when the VAR disallowed the goal.
Axel Disasi thought he won the game for Chelsea but the VAR annulled the goal
Madueke lunged straight at Pawson and began shouting in his face before being stopped by Chelsea manager 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!’ as he points at Pawson.
Disasi, who scored the last-gasp disallowed goal, tried to calm Madueke by grabbing him and pulling him away from the situation.
However, it was too late as Pawson was not very impressed with Madueke’s behavior and awarded him a yellow card before speaking to Cole Palmer.
Palmer appeared to plead with Pawson before being escorted away by Chelsea backroom staff.
Once tensions had calmed, Madueke was asked about the 96th-minute goal. He told BBC Sport: ‘Should it have been three points? Yeah.’
The 22-year-old added: “Do I think the goal should have stood? Yes. There is nothing more to say about the situation.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was also unimpressed, saying VAR is “damaging English football” after his team were denied a winning goal in stoppage time.
Madueke and Benoit Badiashile could reportedly be heard saying “it’s wrong, you know it’s wrong.” You know it. You know it’ as he points at Pawson
However, it was too late as Pawson was not very impressed with Madueke’s behavior and showed him a yellow card before speaking to Cole Palmer.
Referee Craig Pawson reviewed the pitch monitor and ruled out Chelsea’s winning goal.
“Everyone who watched the game will be 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 went to the VAR to confirm it.
‘The referee is incredible and it’s ridiculous. It’s hard to accept, this kind of thing in the semi-final (FA Cup against Man City) two weeks ago was handball and it wasn’t a penalty, the referee didn’t review it.
“It is painful because it has damaged English football and I think the Villa players and their fans did not understand why the goal was disallowed.
“They said it was a foul and if you look at the challenge, what happened if we went into every challenge like this, it will be a foul and we wouldn’t finish the game with 11 (players).
“We can talk about the performance or the decision, that is damaging the game.” I’m calm and it’s just to help. Now we have to move on and it will make the headlines with the disallowed goal.”
It looked like it was going to be another night to forget as an own goal from Marc Cucurella and a goal from Morgan Rogers put Villa 2-0 up at half-time.
But Chelsea responded well and equalized through Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher before the stoppage-time drama.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was also unimpressed, saying VAR is “damaging English football” after his team were denied a winning goal in added time.
Madueke scored in the 62nd minute to get Chelsea back into the game on Saturday night.
Villa may feel they got their way, despite leading the game 2-0 at half-time.
Aiming to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition for the first time, they were set to move nine points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham but looked leggy and not at their best.
The draw opened the door for Spurs, who have three games in hand, but Villa will remain favorites to finish in fourth place, with the north London club still having to play against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Pochettino will be pleased with his team’s performance and they still have a chance of qualifying for Europe if they can finish an inconsistent season strongly.