Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has claimed that Marc Cucurella should 'know better' after receiving a red card in the aftermath of Chelsea's 2-1 win over Brentford.
The Blues maintained their position in second, moving to within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool, with the Spain international getting on the scoresheet on Sunday. Nicolas Jackson doubled the lead late on after notching his ninth of the campaign but Bryan Mbuemo's stoppage-time strike sparked a nervy ending for Enzo Maresca's side.
The slender one-goal lead proved to be enough for Chelsea but there was an altercation in the latter stages which saw Cucurella sent off after the full-time whistle. The 26-year-old went to ground after a collision with Kevin Schade when Brentford has a set-piece late on but the melee that followed saw the German cautioned while the Spaniard was shown a second yellow card and will now miss the trip to Goodison Park next weekend.
"Well, you only see a little bit after the game. Everybody was pushing and shoving, the referee booked Cucurella and Schade for adopting an aggressive attitude," Gallagher said. "That’s the only bit you saw, isn’t it? He’d just had a yellow card a minute before so he should have known better."
The Chelsea defender has come in for criticism for his reaction to the incident with Schade and Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted he didn't like the action from the former Brighton full-back.
"I think Cucurella is a top player, he is doing well," he said. "But I don't like it when players go to the ground and hold their face [incident in stoppage time]. I will say to Cucurella because I respect him massively."