The officials have been appointed for Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Brentford, and the referee on VAR duty has very recent controversial history involving the Blues.
Enzo Maresca’s side have got off to a very strong start in domestic competitions, however every game has been somewhat overshadowed by a goal being disallowed by VAR.
PGMOL removed Michael Salisbury from his refereeing duties after he disallowed Josh King’s goal in the West London derby against Fulham which would have put the visitors 1-0 up. The Blues would go on to win 2-0.
They also escaped a narrow offside call against West Ham, before going on to rout their London rivals away from home.
Stoke City v Walsall - Carabao Cup First Round
Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images
James Bell appointed VAR for Brentford vs Chelsea after early-season drama
The opening game of the season saw Chelsea also avoid going behind, when Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was disallowed following an obstruction on the defensive wall.
Pundits disagreed with the referee’s decision at the time, which was made by James Bell as the video assistant referee.
It is clear that the PGMOL don’t believe there was any issue with that decision, with the Premier League’s official announcement showing Bell will again be on VAR duties for Chelsea’s trip to Brentford.
Stuart Attwell has been appointed as the referee for the fixture, in a game that Chelsea will be hoping does not get overshadowed by more refereeing controversy.
The board confirms the VAR decision to rule out Eberechi Eze's goal against Chelsea
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
Chelsea’s recent history with Attwell as referee
The Blues have a relatively strong recent record in games that Attwell has been in charge of, with them unbeaten in the three matches he officiated last season.
The most recent was the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge against Ipswich Town, and before that was a 2-1 win over West Ham and 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.
Before that though, there was a peculiar run of 13 games refereed by Attwell where Chelsea won just one game, stretching back all the way to 2020.
As always, the hope will be that the officials are not the main talking point by the time the game comes to an end, and Maresca’s men will have enough quality to get the win.