Eberechi Eze thought he had opened the scoring for Crystal Palace against Chelsea, but his rocket free-kick was disallowed by VAR due to a largely unknown law
14:29, 17 Aug 2025Updated 14:43, 17 Aug 2025
Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze's free-kick goal against Chelsea was ruled out
Eberechi Eze saw a brilliant free-kick goal disallowed by VAR after Crystal Palace thought they had taken the lead against Chelsea due to a little-known law.
The Eagles celebrated taking the lead at Stamford Bridge as Eze, clearly unfazed by transfer speculation surrounding him, slammed home a free-kick from the edge of the box.
However, that joy was cut short as referee Darren England was sent to the monitor to review a possible infraction in the goal.
Replays showed that Palace captain Marc Guehi had bundled Moises Caicedo out of position next to the wall, allowing Eze the space to drill his effort through Robert Sanchez.
But in Guehi's attempts, he had actually moved within a metre of the Chelsea wall, infringing the little-known law that was introduced in 2019. England explained the decision to the stadium as the Blues breathed a sigh of relief after a difficult start to the game at Stamford Bridge.
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The Premier League Match Centre account addressed the decision on X, explaining: "After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of goal to Crystal Palace.
"Referee announcement: “After review, away number six is less than one metre away from the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore, it's an indirect free kick and a disallowed goal”.
However, fans were left furious that such a brilliant strike had been ruled out for a largely meaningless invention, with Guehi's actions having no impact on the actual Chelsea wall.
Eberechi Eze disallowed free-kick goal vs Chelsea
Eberechi Eze's free-kick was ruled out
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One fan slammed: "Game is completely gone! Great goal by Eze ruled out for literally nothing." A second echoed: "The game is gone if this brilliant Eze goal is chucked off. The game has gone so soft. Ridiculous".
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Palace started the feisty game brightly and looked to have deservedly taken the lead with Chelsea struggling to handle the Eagles' energetic play.
Eze's effort comes after he was named in the starting line-up by Oliver Glasner despite reports on Saturday suggesting the England international would not be involved in the squad as talks of a possible transfer to Tottenham intensified.