Set-piece coach should have been sent off against Chelsea, panel says
- Published
Aston Villa set-piece coach Austin MacPhee should have been sent off in last month's game against Chelsea, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel has said.
Villa were leading in the sixth minute of stoppage time when the ball went out of play close to the dugouts.
As a Chelsea player prepared to take a throw-in, MacPhee rolled another ball onto the pitch to delay the restart.
Chelsea players reacted angrily because play had to be stopped.
The fourth official, Tim Robinson, advised referee Stuart Attwell that MacPhee should be booked.
However, yellow cards for delaying the restart only apply to players. The panel unanimously voted that MacPhee should have been sent off.
The panel said: "For a 'team official' in the technical area e.g. manager or coach, a clear action to delay the restart of play for the opposing team, or deliberately throwing/kicking an object onto the field of play, requires a red card".
Ultimately, Villa held on to win the game 2-1.
The match ended in angry scenes with Chelsea charged with "failing to ensure personnel positioned around the technical area after the final whistle did not behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or abusive way".
In a separate incident during the same game, it was alleged a bottle had been thrown at the Villa bench.
