After the Blues were denied a penalty earlier this season, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca claims the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) sent a written apology to his team.
Before his team's Premier League match against Wolves on Monday night, Maresca told the gathered reporters, "I remember two or three games ago that they didn't whistle for a penalty and then we got a mail apologizing, that it should have been a penalty." "But we don't need apologies."
According to The Athletic, Maresca was alluding to Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in their opening match of 2025, even if the Italian manager did not specify the match.
Cole Palmer's first goal put the Blues ahead 1-0, but Palace's retreating Tyrick Mitchell put Pedro Neto in the box. Mike Dean, a former Premier League official, vehemently disagreed with the ruling, even though the referee and VAR waved away the verdict. "I think Neto's got there first, knocked the ball away and Mitchell's caught him from behind," Dean stated to Sky Sports. "I think it should have been an intervention and a definite penalty."
The Premier League's official Match Centre X account did not offer an in-game explanation for the decision, and Howard Webb, the technical director of PGMOL, the organization that oversees England's referees, did not discuss the event in his January edition of Match Officials Mic'd Up.
According to The Athletic, PGMOL sources categorically refute Maresca's account, maintaining that Chelsea received no apology for this penalty appeal.
When on-pitch referee Rob Jones disregarded VAR's recommendation to send out Cherries striker David Brooks for a tug on Marc Cucurella earlier this month, Chelsea found themselves on the losing end of a historic VAR judgment against Bournemouth.
Maresca was asked if he could feel ashamed of his players' wildly exaggerated requests for red cards and penalties that haven't been delivered. He disagreed plainly.
"No, not at all," the ex-Leicester City manager sighed. "I received a red card the other day against Bournemouth. We will not make any changes.
"Therefore, neither the club nor ourselves are ashamed of this. This kind of thing must embarrass someone, but not us. I adore each and every one of my players.
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