Footage from the stands at Stamford Bridge has emerged showing Marc Cucurella shoving Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer under the referee's nose moments before he was sent off. The Chelsea full-back will now be suspended for next weekend's trip to Everton.
Cucurella had angered the visiting Brentford players during the closing stages of Sunday's 2-1 win after a strong challenge saw him pick up a yellow card. Ajer had complained about the tackle to match official Peter Bankes as his side attempted to find a late equaliser.
The referee was not sent to his pitchside monitor by VAR, though, and matters were compounded after Cucurella also appeared to make the most of a collision with Vitaly Janelt when defending his box from a stoppage-time free-kick. Cucurella ran into the Bees player and a foul was given.
Tempers continued to bubble over after the game finished with Cucurella being shown a second yellow card in a matter of minutes. He was sent off after the full-time whistle by Bankes, with the Premier League's Match Centre explaining, ""The referee issued a second yellow card to Cucurella for adopting an aggressive attitude. [Kevin] Schade was also booked for the same offence."
A fan recording shows the incident from the centre circle as Cucurella was pushed by Ajer into one of the linesmen. The Chelsea player reacted, turning around in shock, protesting briefly to the referee as Tosin Adarabioyo went over to act as peacemaker.
User @CFCCath on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: My view at the end @cucurella3". The 11-second clip shows the Ajer push in full with Renato Veiga quick to interject and take Cucurella away from the swarm of Brentford bodies, although he could not save his teammate from eventually being sent off.
Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho can also be seen sitting on the grass, ignoring the mini bust-up. Bankes is swift to go to his pocket, following Cucurella to eventually dismiss him.
According to former top-flight referee Dermot Gallagher, Cucurulla was asking for trouble. "Well, you only see a little bit after the game," he said on Sky Sports' Ref Watch segment. "Everybody was pushing and shoving; the referee booked Cucurella and Schade for adopting an aggressive attitude.
"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." Brentford boss Frank was less enamoured. "I think Cucurella is a top player; he is doing well," he said after the match. "But I don't like it when players go to the ground and hold their face. I will say to Cucurella because I respect him massively."
Despite already missing one game through suspension this season due to an accumulation of yellow cards, Cucurella will only be out for one match. Chelsea lost that fixture without Cucurella, also going down on Merseyside in a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.