Eberechi Eze thought he had fired Crystal Palace into dreamland when his free-kick pierced the Chelsea wall and beat Robert Sánchez inside the opening 15 minutes of their opening Premier League clash on Sunday afternoon. But jubilation quickly turned to confusion as the goal was controversially disallowed, with initial suggestions pointing to Marc Guehi’s alleged interference in the wall.
Both players are attracting transfer interest this summer - Eze linked with Tottenham and Guehi rumoured to be on Liverpool’s radar - and the pair had seemed poised to deliver another parting gift to Palace (watch the disallowed goal below), having already played key roles in last season’s FA Cup triumph and last week’s Community Shield victory.
Instead, their celebrations were cut short. What looked like a brilliantly executed set-piece straight from the training ground was ruled out in circumstances that left fans inside the stadium and watching at home baffled. And while many assumed Guehi’s supposed push was the issue, the eventual explanation revealed that the decision had nothing to do with that at all, as explained by referee Darren England over the tannoy.
Referee Explains Decision to Disallow Eze Goal To Crowd
Eberechi Eze
In the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, referees will now explain why a certain decision has been made during games. After taking a second to process the incident on the pitchside monitor, England told the crowd that Eze's goal was ruled out because the Palace defender was within a metre of the ball when the free-kick was taken. He said:
"Away number 6 is less than one metre into the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore it's an indirect free-kick and a disallowed goal."
Throughout the campaign, the referee’s explanation to the crowd - audible to viewers at home - was meant to reduce confusion over VAR decisions. Yet, as Sky Sports’ posts show, many were still left puzzled about the reasoning behind the final call.
The disallowed goal left the game goalless at the break, with Chelsea using the setback as motivation to regain a foothold in the match, though they were unable to find a breakthrough before halftime.