SARRI’S KEEPER MUTINY
Kepa refuses to go off in amazing row
CHELSEA were at the centre of an astonishing Carabao Cup fi nal bust- up yesterday as Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted.
Manager Maurizio Sarri was visibly seething and at one point looked set to storm off down the Wembley tunnel when his £ 71million goalkeeper waved away his efforts to replace him with Willy Cabellero. Manchester City held their nerve amid the chaotic scenes to lift the trophy after a penalty shoot- out, but the incident places fresh question marks over Sarri’s reign.
Boss and goalkeeper later tried to downplay the incident. Kepa, who was unable to prevent Raheem Sterling from scoring the winning penalty, said: “In no moment was it my intention to disobey, or anything like that with
the boss. We have spoken now. He thought I wasn’t fi ne. It was in a tense moment, with a lot happening…
“It wasn’t that I was refusing to be substituted, it was a way of trying to tell the bench that I was fi ne.” There had been further drama when Sarri was held back from his squad by Antonio Rudiger, below, who prevented him from addressing the players until the very last moments before the shoot- out got underway. However, once he had calmed down Sarri played the whole incident down. “It was a big misunderstanding,” he insisted. “I understood he had cramp, so I didn’t want the goalkeeper to go to the penalties in that physical condition. Kepa was right mentally because he was able to go to the penalties. But he was wrong in the way he conducted himself.
“I was really angry and I want to talk with him because he needs to understand that, even for a misunderstanding, we can still get in trouble, especially with the press.” David Luiz, who spoke at length to Kepa when he refused to budge, revealed he told his team- mate “to respect the decision of the coach”. With Sarri already under fi re it throws further scrutiny on his ability to handle the Chelsea players. Former club captain John Terry said on Sky Sports: “That’s the last thing the players want — it’s clouded a good performance.
“There are managers that would have made him [ Kepa] come off. If I was in the dressing room, I would expect the manager to come in and deal with it straight away. It’ll be interesting how the next 48 hours pan out.” Former Blues striker Chris Sutton added: “I still cannot believe what I have just seen. How can Kepa play for Chelsea again? How can he play for Sarri again? Something has to give. He has to go.
“I feel for Sarri today, he was under pressure anyway. How’s he going to get through this?” The Chelsea manager was adamant he was not losing his grip on the squad.
“I think I am fully in control of the situation,” Sarri said. “After this match, I have to say that I’m sure because they played exactly the way I asked. I am proud of my players.”