‘KEPA’S A DISGRACE. IT’S DISGUSTING. HE SHOULD NEVER PLAY FOR CHELSEA AGAIN’
AFTER this, Kepa should never play for Chelsea again. To point-blank refuse to be substituted is a disgrace. It’s disgusting. I have never seen anything like it on a football field. It is a complete lack of respect from a player towards his manager. What kind of an example is this for youngsters up and down the country playing grassroots football? The incident was damning for Maurizio Sarri. If this had happened at any club I played for during my career, we would have dragged the goalkeeper off the pitch ourselves. Why did none of the Chelsea players do that at Wembley? How can Sarri now stand in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge and expect Kepa — or indeed any of the Chelsea players — to carry out his instructions? Kepa also showed a lack of respect to Willy Caballero and that relationship will surely be difficult to mend. As the incident was unfolding, I felt sorry for Sarri. While the Chelsea performance wasn’t pretty, his team had fought hard and defended well to take free-scoring Manchester City all the way to penalties. He could have saved face afterwards by coming out strongly and saying that Kepa would be sanctioned. Instead, he claimed the goalkeeper had done no wrong. We all saw Sarri’s reaction on the bench when Kepa refused to come off. We all saw the way he stormed towards the tunnel. His post-match interview was a show of weakness. How are his players going to have any more respect for him after that? Regardless of whether this is the end for Sarri, Kepa’s actions were inexcusable.