The Reason Behind Chelsea Penalty Retake

Chelsea had a controversial retaken penalty against Borussia Dortmund during their Champions League tie was not solely due to the encroachment, according to ESPN’s Dale Johnson. Chelsea defeated Dortmund 2-0 on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge, advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals.

However, the game was clouded in controversy after VAR intervened in the second half, with Ben Chilwell’s cross hitting the arm of Dortmund midfielder Marius Wolf. VAR called for referee Danny Makkelie to review the incident, and he pointed to the spot, with Kai Havertz stepping up to take the penalty kick.

Havertz’s initial effort ricocheted off the right-hand side of the post, and Chelsea was then awarded a second penalty after it was believed that three Dortmund players had encroached during Havertz’s spot-kick.

In a Twitter thread, Johnson explained the reason behind the retaken penalty, stating that the controversy was not about the encroachment itself but the material impact. Johnson highlighted a Dortmund player in the D-shaped area who played the ball, and regardless of who plays the ball, if players from both teams encroach on a miss, it’s a retake.

A player who encroaches on a penalty and plays the ball hasn’t committed an automatic offence, and they must impact an opponent. Johnson questioned whether there was a Chelsea player who could have played the ball if the encroaching Dortmund player had not kicked it.

Chelsea will find out their quarter-finals opponent after the draw, which will take place at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on March 17.