Article body analysed
By BEN WILLCOCKS, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Published: 06: 16 AEDT, 2 November 2025 | Updated: 08: 32 AEDT, 2 November 2025 22 View comments The Premier League has issued an explanation to clarify why Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was not shown a straight red card for his tackle on Chelsea's Reece James on Saturday. Towards the end of a feisty first half, Bentancur stopped Chelsea's counter attack with a forceful tackle on James, catching the defender on the ankle. The Chelsea captain was furious to see referee Jarred Gillett only reach for a yellow card, convinced that it should have been deemed serious foul play. As soon as Bentancur made contact with James' ankle, several players from both sides came together in a chaotic melee, which resulted in Trevoh Chalobah also being shown a yellow card after getting in the face of the Uruguayan. Eager to clear up why VAR had not overturned Gillett's on-field decision, the Premier League Match Centre released an explanation on social media shortly into the second half. 'The referee’s call of yellow card to Bentancur was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed to be a reckless challenge and not serious foul play, ' the post read. Former Spurs star Jamie Redknapp, who was working as a pundit in the Sky Sports studio, claimed that Bentancur only escaped serious punishment because the challenge was low on James' ankle. The Premier League has issued an explanation to clarify why Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was not shown a straight red card for his tackle on Chelsea's Reece James (above) Referee Jarred Gillett only showed Bentancur a yellow card, not deeming it serious foul play The Uruguayan's tackle led to a furious melee between Chelsea's and Tottenham's players #TOTCHE – 45+2’The referee’s call of yellow card to Bentancur was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed to be a reckless challenge and not serious foul play. 'He knows he's leaving a little bit on him, ' Redknapp said at half time. 'He's late, he's aggressive, he's over the top of the ball. A little bit higher, it's a red card. ' On Sky Sports commentary duty, Jamie Carragher hinted that Bentancur was lucky not to be given his marching orders. 'It catches him on the ankle and it'll be a sore one for him. It looks worse in slow motion, ' the Liverpool legend said. Meanwhile, during be IN Sports' half-time analysis, Richard Keys simply said: 'I'm lost for words. He's got to go! ' Despite feeling aggrieved by the decision, Chelsea still went on to claim all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a comfortable 1-0 win. Joao Pedro ended his goal drought with a cool finish inside the penalty box in the 35th minute, firing Chelsea in front after being set up superbly by the tenacity of Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian showed great spirit to twice win the ball off Tottenham's defenders and lay the ball into Pedro's path, before the striker finished with aplomb.
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.