Just like Henderson disrespecting his coach, Chelsea goalkeeper also didn’t let go his coach after he was forced to come out of the field.
Watching goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga appearing to struggle with cramp, and with a penalty shootout looming to settle the League Cup final, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri summoned a substitute from the bench.
Wildly gesticulating with his arms, the world’s most expensive goalkeeper forcefully indicated to Sarri he would be ready to face penalties against Manchester City with the Wembley showpiece locked at 0-0 and extra time about to end.
But Sarri was determined to bring on Willy Caballero, who saved three spot kicks in the 2016 League Cup final while in City’s winning side.
So Kepa, who joined Chelsea in August for 80 million euros (NZ $132 million), simply would not leave the field.
“It wasn’t that I was refusing to be substituted,” Kepa said later, after being beaten by four penalties in City’s 4-3 victory in the shootout. “It was a way of trying to tell the bench that I was fine.”
But Kepa’s behavior wasn’t fine at all, according to former Chelsea captain John Terry.
“Once your number goes up you have to come off and show a bit of respect,” Terry said in the Sky Sports television studio at Wembley.
“Deal with that after.”
Publicly humiliated with his authority undermined, Sarri was furious and initially headed down the tunnel before returning just in time for extra time to end.
In the shootout, Kepa made only one save from Leroy Sane as Raheem Sterling completed the shootout victory to defend City’s title and keep the team in contention for a quadruple.
“In no moment was it my intention to disobey, or anything like that with the boss,” Kepa said. “Just that it was misunderstood because I had been attended to by the medics twice, and he thought that I wasn’t in condition to continue.
“It was two or three minutes of confusion until the medics got to the bench, and they explained everything well.”
After collecting his runners-up medal, Sarri sought to diffuse the controversy.
“It was a big misunderstanding,” Sarri said. “I understood the goalkeeper had cramp and for me he was unable to go to penalties but the problem was not cramp so he was able to go to penalties.”
Not that Sarri wants to see a repeat. “Kepa was right but in the wrong way,” Sarri said. “He was right for the motivation but not for the conduct.”
Even Kepa realized the incident was damaging for the club’s reputation as images flashed around the world.
“I understand that on television, on social media, they’re talking about this but I am here to explain it, to say that it wasn’t my intention to go against the manager,” Kepa said. “We have spoken now, and I was only trying to say ‘I’m fine.’ He thought I wasn’t fine. It was in tense moments, with a lot happening.”
The insubordination exposes the player power that has appeared to often cause problems for Chelsea managers. It leaves the 60-year-old Sarri without a trophy in his career and Kepa’s defiance adds to the manager’s problems with Chelsea down to sixth in the Premier League.
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said seeing Sarri undercut by Kepa made him “really sad.”
“I don’t like that he leaves his coach and the assistant coach in a situation of great fragility,” Mourinho said while covering the match in Spain for the internet streaming service DAZN.