Kai Havertz penalty: Why was it retaken during Chelsea vs Dortmund? | OneFootball

Chelsea’s pressure-easing win over Borussia Dortmund to reach the Champions League quarter-finals last night was somewhat overshadowed by penalty controversy.

Graham Potter went into this game under increasing scrutiny, because although his side may have gained a much needed three points against Leeds United last weekend, it was hardly a convincing performance.

The Blues began the second leg at Stamford Bridge looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit. Raheem Sterling drew the sides level two minutes before the break with a thumping strike following Ben Chilwell’s cut back.

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Chelsea doubled their lead on the night and crucially took the lead overall thanks to a Kai Havertz penalty. A penalty marred in controversy, however.

Chelsea's controversial penalty vs Dortmund

Marius Wolf had handled the ball which blocked Chilwell’s attempted cross, however, the German defender was at close-proximity with his hands by his side, so some would see it as an incredibly harsh call to say the least.

Up stepped Kai Havertz to take the penalty, he saw his shot hit the post after a slow and stuttering run up. Here comes the controversy, though, VAR had checked for a possible encroachment which saw both Chelsea and Dortmund players inside the box at the point of contact.

The rules stipulate that if both teams encroach during a penalty, a retake would be awarded. This is one of the important lines in the VAR handbook: "And regardless of who plays the ball, if players from both teams encroach on a miss, it's a retake."

The handbook continues: "A defender who encroached prevents an attacker playing or being able to play the ball in a situation where a goal might be scored."

Why was Chelsea's penalty retaken?

It is thought that as Dortmund cleared the ball after it bounced back off the post, they were preventing the attacking side from playing the ball.

The VAR footage is a bit contentious as Enzo Fernandez does not appear to be in the path of the ball. It was highly unlikely that Chelsea were going to score when the ball came back off the post due to the positioning of both sets of players, this is where supporters and pundits alike are caught in two minds about the decision.

One Twitter user commented: "They were never going to score from that situation, therefore it’s a case of VAR deciding a tie with a decision that isn’t correct. Not what VAR was brought in for."

While another said: "Why are we creating grey areas for such high impact decisions? In the era of VAR, with so much at stake due to human error, we shouldn't be endorsing these grey areas. It should be a re-take because he encroached and got involved with play, simple as that."

It's fair to say the fallout from this will continue, though, Chelsea won't care one jot as they prepare for a Champions League quarter-final.