Premier League VAR history made in Chelsea's draw with Bournemouth | OneFootball

Bournemouth forward David Brooks became the first player in Premier League history not to be sent off after a red-card review at the pitch-side monitor - much to the disbelief of Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

Brooks had been embroiled in a bubbling battle with the Blues left-back Marc Cucurella throughout Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. There was no doubt that the Welsh forward tugged back his Spanish counterpart within ten minutes of the restart, halting a quick breakaway for the hosts, but video replays failed to show clearly where the contact between the two players was made.

On-pitch referee Rob Jones blew for a foul but was ushered towards the touchline screen by VAR Graham Scott before he issued a card of any colour. After reviewing the footage, Jones booked Brooks - who seemed more preoccupied with Cucurella rather than the historic nature of his escape.

As pointed out by ESPN's VAR expert Dale Johnson, Jones became the first Premier League referee since the introduction of VAR in 2019 not to follow a red-card recommendation. The official from Merseyside was also the first since May 2024 to stick with his original decision after being directed to the monitor.

Shortly after the incident, the Premier League's official match centre X account explained why Jones stuck to his guns: "Upon review, the referee deemed that the challenge on Cucurella was a reckless action and not violent conduct."

Law 12 in the FA's Official Handbook defines a "reckless action" as "when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent". By comparison, "violent conduct" is when "a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent".

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not impressed with the landmark moment. "When there is no intention to take the ball, it's red," the Italian seethed post-game. "They have to explain. So if they give yellow, that means something happened. How can they judge it was not dangerous? You cannot. It's red."

Maresca's Bournemouth counterpart, Andoni Iraola, predictably disagreed: "There's no violence, it stops a counter, it's a clear yellow card."