Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has warned Chelsea that the FA could intervene after a new camera angle of the melee involving Nicolas Jackson emerged following the side’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Tensions ran high for much of Sunday’s contest at Stamford Bridge, where Noni Madueke cancelled out Chris Wood’s opener to rescue a point for the Blues.
Towards the end of the match, Marc Cucurella received a push in the back from Neco Williams which sent the Spanish full-back careering into Enzo Maresca on the touchline.
The incident sparked a heated fracas between both sets of players before referee Chris Kavanagh allowed play to continue, with Chelsea forward Jackson escaping unpunished after a VAR check.
However, pictures have subsequently emerged which appear to show Jackson – who had earlier been substituted – striking Forest’s Morato in the face.
Wesley Fofana and Cucurella both received bookings in the match, ruling the two defenders out of Chelsea’s trip to Liverpool after the international break through suspension.
Jackson could still feature at Anfield as it stands, though former official Gallagher believes this may change if the scuffle is reviewed again by the FA.
Asked about Kavanagh’s decision to keep his distance when the melee broke out, Gallagher told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch: ‘I think if you get in the middle of this you’ve got two problems.
‘Firstly, you’re at risk of being struck yourself. If a player strikes you then a player has got a big problem so the referee doesn’t want to put himself in that position because he might strike him accidentally but that won’t exonerate it.
‘Secondly, you’ve got a more panoramic view so you can see who has run from distance. Who has come in as an aggressor and who has come in as the peacemaker?
‘So there’s a lot of mileage in standing back. When you see that situation you pick out what you can, your colleagues do, VAR does and then if there’s anything left obviously the FA will intervene afterwards.’
According to Gallagher, the video assistant referee did not have access to the best camera angle of Jackson’s slap and the striker could face retrospective punishment.
‘I think this falls in line the last thing I’ve just said. Once your colleagues have swept up for you, if there is anything else then the FA may pick up at a later date,’ he added.
‘This camera angle wasn’t available yesterday. I know because I was watching the incident, watching what VAR was looking at, and they certainly didn’t have that angle.
‘So the angle could be that it hasn’t been checked by VAR because they couldn’t see that and this is a new angle. It’s up to the FA to decide what to do.’
Former Liverpool and Blackburn defender Stephen Warnock joked that Jackson was a ‘very brave lad’ taking on Morato considering the size difference between the two players.
‘It’s very difficult. Again, why make that decision? But it’s the heat of the moment with everything going on,’ Warnock said of Jackson’s slap.
‘What I will say is, he’s a very brave lad because Morato is a monster. He’s about 6 ft 4 in, his shoulders are huge.
‘I’m thinking that he’s the last person I would pick on in that melee so fair play to him. It’s brave.’
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