Chelsea were forced to settle for a point in the West London derby against Brentford, however former referee Mark Clattenburg believes a major officiating error took place in the game.
It looked as if Enzo Maresca’s side had turned around their fortunes after a poor first half, with Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo’s stunning goals putting them 2-1 up.
The Blues had started very poorly after making a number of changes to their starting side, and Jamie Redknapp criticised the decision to start Wesley Fofana at right-back.
Despite looking as if they were set for three points, a Fabio Carvalho goal from a long throw-in pegged them back to 2-2, sparking mad celebrations in the home end.
Fabio Carvalho scores during Brentford v Chelsea - Premier League
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Mark Clattenburg says VAR made major error during Brentford vs Chelsea
While Maresca had no complaints when asked after the game, Blues fans quickly took to social media to claim that the goal should have been disallowed.
Dango Ouattara tried to get on the end of a flick-on from the throw, however was clearly standing in an offside position.
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Mark Clattenburg has exclusively told The Chelsea Chronicle that the forward is interfering with play despite not actually touching the ball, and offside should have been given.
He said: “Dango Ouattara is in an offside position when the ball is flicked on after the throw in. Even though he doesn’t touch the ball, he clearly moves towards it and interferes with a defender’s ability to play the ball therefore he is interfering with play, that’s offside.”
Chelsea would have gone top of the league if they had held out for all three points, with refereeing decisions playing a key part in the opening few games of the Premier League season.
Mark Clattenberg referees during Baller League x Match Day 10
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VAR drama across Chelsea’s opening games
The season could have got off to a nightmare start for Maresca when they faced Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season.
Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was disallowed for the largely-unknown rule regarding interference on the defensive wall.
West Ham could also have restored a 2-1 advantage against the Blues if it wasn’t for a narrow offside call, in a game where Chelsea eventually ran out 5-1 winners.
PGMOL offered an apology to Chelsea’s opponents, Fulham, after Josh King’s goal was disallowed in 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge in their last game.