Chelsea Boss Enzo Maresca Questions Officiating Consistency After Fiery Arsenal Draw

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca voiced his frustration with what he described as mixed refereeing standards after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca accepted Moises Caicedo’s red card, upgraded from yellow after VAR intervention but argued that similar incidents in recent Premier League matches had been judged differently.

He pointed to Rodrigo Bentancur’s challenge on Reece James earlier in the season and insisted that Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie was “fortunate” to avoid a dismissal for an aerial collision that left Trevoh Chalobah with swelling around his eye.

Maresca explained that the officials told him Hincapie’s contact was not considered an elbow, a verdict he struggled to reconcile with the visible injury on his defender.

Despite going down to 10 men, Chelsea took the lead through Chalobah’s header before Arsenal equalised through Mikel Merino.

The Italian praised his squad’s work-rate, insisting his side had been the superior team before the dismissal and highlighting the resilience shown after the red card.

Chelsea face Leeds United on Wednesday, while Arsenal prepare for Brentford.