Chelsea decide on Kepa punishment after show of defiance

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Kepa Arrizabalaga will avoid any form of punishment at Chelsea despite directly ignoring manager Maurizio Sarri’s instructions during the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

The Spain star – the world’s most expensive goalkeeper – created one of the most talked about incidents of the season when he defied Sarri’s efforts to substitute him during the closing stages of Chelsea’s defeat on penalties to Manchester City at Wembley.

Arrizabala had twice gone down in pain when making saves during extra time, and with Sarri getting sub Willy Caballero ready for action, the Blues No 1 went against his manager’s orders to continue playing.

Both the 24-year-old and manager Sarri have attempted to diffuse the row – with the incident prompting many to suggest the goalkeeper must be fined at least two weeks’ wages and severely reprimanded by the club for his show of defiance.

“Kepa was right, but wrong in the way he conducted himself,” said Sarri. “I was really angry. I want to talk with him because he needs to understand that we can get in trouble, especially with you [the media].”

 

However, according to the Evening Standard, Chelsea have decided against punishing the keeper, with a club spokesman indicating to the paper that both Sarri and Kepa want to put the incident behind them as quickly as possible.

Maurizio Sarri TEAMtalk

Former Chelsea captain John Terry insisted that Sarri had to deal with the problem immediately after the game and felt the incident was indicative of a manager in trouble.

“If I was in there [dressing room] I’d be expecting the manager to come in and deal with it instantly,” he told Sky Sports.

“It leaves Sarri in a tough place – I’m surprised he didn’t force him to come off.

“It will be interesting how it pans out in the next 24 hours for the club.”

 

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