Why Cole Palmer Misses Liverpool, Not Man Utd, After His Red Card

• Cole Palmer was sent off for two yellow cards in Chelsea’s 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham and is banned for one match.
• Red card bans carry across domestic competitions, so Palmer misses the EFL Cup tie at Liverpool on Wednesday and is free to face Manchester United on Saturday.
• Dermot Gallagher, Jay Bothroyd and Tim Sherwood split over both yellow cards, with Sherwood saying Palmer “knows what he’s doing”.

A Red Card the Experts Could Not Agree On

Cole Palmer will not play at Anfield on Wednesday, and the panel on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch could not agree on whether he deserved to go. Former referee Dermot Gallagher, Jay Bothroyd and Tim Sherwood each picked through the two yellow cards that ended Palmer’s afternoon in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat by Tottenham on Saturday.

Both bookings came in the second half. The first was for an off-the-ball incident in which Palmer barged into the head of Tottenham midfielder Mateus Fernandes while Fernandes was on his knees. The second was for a foul on Spurs midfielder Conor Gallagher. The dismissal brought a one-match ban.

The Barge on Fernandes

Dermot Gallagher kept his verdict short. “I back the ref because it is so open to debate,” he said.

Bothroyd put more of the blame on Fernandes. “Fernandes clearly provokes him and has played it really well,” he said. He believes Palmer “has definitely not hit him as much as his reaction”, but he pointed to recent weeks, when players putting their head into someone’s face have been shown red, and said “then it should be a red card.”

Sherwood saw a case for a straight red. “If you’re going to send someone off for putting their head into someone’s nose, then I think it could be [a red card]. Palmer has knocked him over.”

The Second Yellow: Stamp or Accident?

The foul on Conor Gallagher split the panel in a different way. Dermot Gallagher thought the booking was right. “Why would you make a tackle like that if you’re on a yellow card? He doesn’t get the ball, he’s a long way from it, his studs land on Gallagher’s ankle.”

Bothroyd disagreed. “I don’t think it’s a yellow,” he said. “Palmer doesn’t even know he’s hurt him. He hasn’t stamped.” In his view Palmer “accidentally stepped on his ankle”.

Sherwood sided with the referee, and went further. “Palmer knows what he’s doing. He knows Gallagher is there and has planted his foot on his ankle,” he said. “He’s got a little bit of petulance in him, he kicked the ball away and should have been sent off.”

Why Palmer Misses Liverpool and Not Manchester United

In most cases a red card ban is served in the next league match. Palmer’s is different. According to BBC Sport, red card suspensions are carried out across domestic competitions rather than in the competition where they were earned. Chelsea’s next game is the EFL Cup fourth-round tie away at Liverpool on Wednesday night, so that is the match Palmer misses.

Suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards across a campaign work another way and are served in the competition in which they were picked up. Palmer is available to face United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, three days after the cup tie on Merseyside.

The Other Red Card Calls From the Same Game

The panel also looked at two challenges that stayed at yellow. Morgan Rogers arrived late on Conor Gallagher and kicked the Tottenham midfielder in the shin. “I never considered it was a red card for one second and I still do not,” said Dermot Gallagher.

Micky van de Ven went flying in on Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo and was only booked. Dermot Gallagher said “you have to be very, very careful what you start chucking red cards about for”. Bothroyd was blunter: “If Caicedo does not jump out the way and hurdle him, that is a straight red card all day long.” Sherwood agreed that Caicedo’s jump mattered. “If he does not jump, he breaks his leg,” he said.

Chelsea Go to Anfield Short in Attack

The ban lands at a bad time. The Guardian reported that João Pedro picked up an injury in training, missed the Tottenham game and is expected to miss the games against Liverpool and Manchester United as a minimum. Chelsea have played two league games without him this season, lost both and failed to score in either. Palmer and Rogers are not as effective without him.

Xabi Alonso will have to find goals at Anfield without his playmaker and his first-choice striker.