Bournemouth striker David Brooks became the first player in Premier League history not to be sent off after receiving a red card on the pitch monitor – much to the disbelief of Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
Brooks was involved in a heated battle with Blues left-back Marc Cucurella during Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. There was no doubt that the Welsh striker pushed back his Spanish counterpart within ten minutes of the restart, stopping a rapid breakaway by the hosts, but video footage did not clearly show where the contact between the two players came.
The on-field referee Rob Jones blew for a foul but was guided to the touchline screen by VAR Graham Scott before issuing a card of any color. After viewing the footage, Jones booked Brooks – who appeared to be more preoccupied with Cucurella than the historical nature of his escape.
As highlighted by ESPN‘S VAR expert Dale Johnson said Jones was the first Premier League referee since the introduction of VAR in 2019 to fail to follow a red card recommendation. The Merseyside official was also the first since May 2024 to stick with his original decision after being referred to the monitor.
David Brooks misses a red card despite a lengthy VAR review đź‘€
Should he have been sent off…? 🤔
đź“ş @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/cpMQl8RBsZ
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Shortly after the incident, Match Center’s official report stated
Law 12 in Official FA Handbook defines a “reckless act” as “when a player acts with disregard for the danger or consequences to an opponent.” In comparison, “violent behavior” occurs when “a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent.”
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca was not impressed by this crucial moment. “If there is no intention to win the ball, it is red,” the Italian seethed after the game. “You have to explain it. So when they give yellow it means something happened. How can they judge that it wasn’t dangerous? You can’t do that. It’s red.”
Maresca’s Bournemouth counterpart Andoni Iraola predictably disagreed: “There is no violence, it stops a counterattack, it is a clear yellow card.”
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