"We have been robbed", "No penalty, no show for Palmer" - Fans react on social media as Chelsea play out 2-2 draw against Aston Villa
Fans were left infuriated by the decisions of the referee and VAR in Chelsea's 2-2 draw against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, April 27 at Villa Park.
Blues defender Marc Cucurella netted an own goal just four minutes into the match, giving the home side the lead. In the 16th minute, Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson thought he had scored the equalizer but the goal was ruled offside by VAR after a review.
In the 42nd minute, Villa doubled their lead through Morgan Rogers with an assist from Matty Cash. Noni Madueke opened the scoring for the away side in the 62nd minute and then provided an assist for Conor Gallagher's equalizer in the 81st minute.
However, lady luck was not on the Blues' side as Axel Disasi's late strike was ruled out by VAR just minutes before the final whistle.
Several Chelsea fans took their complaints to social media and criticized the refereeing decisions, with many opining that the Blues were unfairly deprived of three points. Here is a collection of their posts on X (formerly Twitter):
"We have been robbed," a fan said.
"We keep fighting," another chimed in.
One fan wrote:
"Chelsea deserved that win tonight, the players were energetic in the second half."
Another added:
"How comes any 50/50 decision always goes against us?"
"Kings of Comeback,We might have a million problems but Aston Villa never one of them. Robbed that Disasi goal !" a fan said.
One user posted:
"No penalty, no show for Palmer."
Another said:
"Very corrupt league. Chelsea were robbed. This is very unfortunate."
One account wrote:
"Chelsea football club, forever getting robbed, always playing against 12 men, corruption every time."
While another said:
"This is the first time I will agree that inexperience affected the result. We would have won this game."
The Blues' Noni Madueke and Benoit Badiashile were both shown a yellow card at the very end of the match for protesting the referee's decisions.
Chelsea boss shares his opinion on disallowed goal
With the draw against Aston Villa on Saturday, the Blues find themselves ninth in the Premier League table with 48 points from 33 matches. The Villans, meanwhile, are in fourth-place with 67 points from 35 matches.
Following the match, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke about Axel Disasi’s disallowed goal, calling the referee 'ridiculous'.
"I don’t want to talk bad about the referee but it’s unbelievable and ridiculous. It’s difficult to accept. In the FA Cup semi-final I was humble and when VAR said no penalty, but this is painful and has damaged the image of English football,” he said.
The Blues will face Tottenham Hotspur next in the Premier League on May 2 at Stamford Bridge.