Bournemouth striker David Brooks became the first player in Premier League history not to be sent off following a red card review on the pitch monitor – to the disbelief of Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
Brooks was engaged in a fierce battle with Blues left back Marc Cucurella throughout. Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. There was no doubt that the Welsh striker hauled down his Spanish counterpart within ten minutes of the restart, stopping a quick breakaway for the hosts, but video replays failed to show clearly where contact had been made between the two players.
On-field referee Rob Jones blew for a foul but was sent to the touchline screen by VAR Graham Scott before issuing a card of any colour. After reviewing the footage, Jones booked Brooks — who seemed more preoccupied with Cucurella than the historic nature of his escape.
As pointed out by ESPNS ' VAR expert Dale Johnson Jones became the first Premier League referee since the year the introduction of VAR in 2019 for not following a red card recommendation. The Merseyside official was also the first since May 2024 to stand by his original decision after heading to the monitor.
David Brooks misses a red card despite a lengthy VAR review 👀
Should he have been kicked out…? 🤔
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/cpMQl8RBsZ
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Shortly after the incident, the Premier League official match center The X account explained why Jones stuck to his guns: “Upon review, the referee deemed the challenge on Cucurella to be reckless and not violent conduct.”
Law 12 in Official FA Handbook defines a “reckless act” as “when a player acts without regard to the danger or consequences to an 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 by the milestone. “When there is no intention to receive the ball, it is red”, said the Italian after the game. “They have to explain. So if they give yellow, that means something happened. How can they judge it wasn't dangerous? You can't. It's red.”
of Maresca Bournemouth his counterpart, Andoni Iraola, predictably disagreed: “There's no violence, it stops a tackle, it's a clean yellow card.”