‘Got it wrong’ – Palace boss Vieira slams referee’s decision not to send Chelsea defender Thiago Silva off for handball

Patrick Vieira was bemused by the decision of referee Chris Kavanagh to only issue Thiago Silva with a yellow card after a deliberate handball in Crystal Palace’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea.

The Eagles were 1-0 up in the 33rd minute – thanks to Odsonne Edouard’s opener – when the Brazilian centre-back was challenged for the ball by Jordan Ayew just inside Chelsea’s half.

The Ghanaian forward snatched the ball away from Silva, who fell to the ground and used his hand to deny Ayew the chance to drive towards goal.

Referee Chris Kavanagh issued Silva with a yellow card. The video assistant referee Stuart Atwell also checked the decision and decided not to overturn the yellow.

It was reported that the decision not to send Thiago Silva off was based on the distance from goal and the fact that Ayew was not running directly at goal.

Conor Gallagher won all three points for Graham Potter’s side with a stunning effort from the edge of the box that flew into the top left-hand corner.

“Regarding the incident with Thiago, it’s something that I don’t want to talk about,” said Vieira.

“It’s difficult for me to understand and accept it, so sometimes it’s better for me to be really quiet and not talk about it.

“I don’t want to talk about it because I believe the referee got it wrong. If I really say what I think, I will be in trouble. 

“It’s better for me not to talk about it. I don’t understand the decision and don’t want to talk about it.

“There is a referee, there is VAR, and they are making decisions – we just move on.”