Gary Neville insisted Morgan Rogers ought to have seen red for a 'ludicrous' challenge during Chelsea's defeat to Tottenham. The midfielder was shown a yellow card in added time of the fixture for bringing down Conor Gallagher. Referee Chris Kavanagh cautioned the 24-year-old, but Neville felt the punishment was insufficient.
Neville's Verdict
While providing commentary for Sky Sports, the former Manchester United defender remarked: "I think that's a red. I do. He's absolutely wellied him with no intent. That's ludicrous from Rogers."
Neville also urged the Chelsea manager to regain control of his squad, stating: "They have lost it. Xabi Alonso needs to get them off."
Match Overview
The Blues suffered a 2-0 reverse against their capital rivals at Stamford Bridge, handing Spurs their first victory at the venue since 2018. Young goalkeeper Mike Penders punched the ball into his own net to gift the visitors a crucial advantage before Mathys Tel fired home from distance to wrap up the three points.
Between the two strikes, Cole Palmer received his marching orders after collecting two yellow cards, though Neville also suggested the midfielder was fortunate not to be dismissed outright. For his initial booking, the 24-year-old barged into Mateus Fernandes on the floor and knocked him over as the Spurs player attempted to stand up.
Brawl and Aftermath
It was this flashpoint that ignited a 14-man brawl between the two London clubs, resulting in bookings for Conor Gallagher, Micky van de Ven, Fernandes and Palmer.
Neville felt the latter was fortunate to remain on the pitch, saying: "Palmer's reaction was silly. He's asking for trouble, that's not great. He's asking for trouble. That's not great from Cole Palmer.
"No idea why he's doing that. He was no doubt [sailing close to the wind]. I think that could be a red. Into the chest you'll get away with it but Fernandes is on the ground. He's got no way to defend himself. It's a stupid thing to do."
In the wake of the defeat, Alonso acknowledged that emotional discipline is an area he wants his Chelsea side to address, and confirmed he would be speaking to Palmer privately about his dismissal.
He said: "Yes we need to work and we need to improve on that. I think we spoke yesterday about those things and to know that in those situations that one first yellow card can be decisive as we have seen, it is a process of the maturity of the team and of the individual players as well.
"We think [up until] now we haven't received any red card and we need to continue that way because we need to have this maturity to deal with difficult moments, when you have conceded 1-0, still probably was 15-20 minutes to go, so we have to be on the way.
"I need to check the action to talk with Cole but it is one to learn for the future for sure."
