Bournemouth striker David Brooks became the first player in Premier League history not to be sent off after his red card was reviewed on a pitchside monitor – much to the disbelief of Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
Brooks was locked in a heated battle with Blues left-back Marco Cucurello throughout 2-2 draw on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge. There was little doubt that the Welsh forward pulled his Spanish counterpart down within ten minutes of the restart, halting the home team’s quick escape, but video replays did not clearly show where the contact between the two players had occurred.
On-field referee Rob Jones played for the foul but was referred to the touchline by VAR Graham Scott before issuing a card of any colour. After reviewing the tape, Jones locked up Brooks — who seemed more preoccupied with Cucurella than the historic nature of his escape.
As he pointed out ESPN‘with VAR expert Dale Johnson, Jones became the first Premier League referee since introduction of VAR in 2019 not to follow the red card recommendation. The Merseyside official was also the first since May 2024 to stand by his original decision after being referred to a monitor.
David Brooks misses a red card despite a lengthy VAR review 👀
Should he have been kicked out…? 🤔
📺 @tntsports and @otkrićeplusUK pic.twitter.com/cpMQl8RBsZ
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Shortly after the incident, a Premier League official center for the match Account X explained why Jones stood his ground: “Upon review, the referee found the challenge on Cucurella to be reckless conduct, not violent conduct.”
Law 12 u The official handbook of the FA defines “reckless action” as “when a player acts without regard to the danger or consequences to the opponent”. By comparison, “violent conduct” is when “a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent.”
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not impressed with the milestone. “When there is no intention to take the ball, it’s red,” the Italian gushed after the game. “They have to explain. So if they give yellow, that means something happened. How can I judge that it wasn’t dangerous? You can’t. It’s red.”
Marescina Bournemouth his colleague, Andoni Iraola, as expected, disagreed: “There is no violence, he stops the counter, it’s a clear yellow card.”
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