Earlier today, Chelsea kicked the $^%& out of Arsenal. We wish we could say that in a nicer way. But the final score was 6-0 and, truthfully, it probably could have been even worse. So we think that our description of what happened is pretty accurate.
With that in mind, everyone should be talking about how great Chelsea played at the moment. But they'e not. Instead, they're talking about a bizarre play that took place within the first 20 minutes of the game. It's a play that's likely going to haunt referee Andre Marriner for a long, long time.
With Chelsea leading 2-0 at the 15-minute mark, Chelsea's Eden Hazard took a shot that was likely going to give his team a 3-0 lead. But Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain didn't let it happen. To prevent the goal, he did this:
That's obviously not allowed, though. So Marriner whipped out his red card and prepared to remove Oxlade-Chamberlain from the game. Only, he didn't give the red card to him. In a strange twist, he gave it to Oxlade-Chamberlain's fellow black teammate Kieran Gibbs. Oxlade-Chamberlain tried to plead his case with Marriner and tell him that he was the one who touched the ball:
But for whatever reason, Marriner was having none of it. He insisted that it was Gibbs who had touched the ball and sent him off. And his decision to do so resulted in a firestorm of tweets about the mix-up:
What a weird play. We'd imagine Marriner will face some kind of punishment for this. But even if he doesn't, it's going to be awhile before he lives this down.
RELATED: The Worst Penalty Fails in Soccer History
[via 101 Great Goals]
