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T.Silva aims dig at ref for not awarding former side Chelsea a penalty

  /  autty

Former Chelsea captain Thiago Silva took a cheeky swipe at referee Anthony Taylor after he elected not to award a penalty for a handball on Mateo Kovacic.

Taylor was the man in the middle for Chelsea's Premier League opener as they welcomed Manchester City to Stamford Bridge.

However, the Blues got their season off to a losing start as goals from Kovacic and Erling Haaland secured a 2-0 win for the visitors.

But Kovacic could have given Chelsea a route back into the contest when the ball struck his arm inside City's box just minutes before he scored.

Luckily for him, Taylor opted not to point to the spot and left many Chelsea fans fuming as to why a penalty was not awarded.

Silva, who spent four years at Stamford Bridge, was also puzzled as to why Chelsea weren't given a penalty.

On an Instagram post of Kovacic's handball, Silva commented: 'Anthonyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'.

Although Silva and other Blues supporters may have been frustrated, Taylor was acting on the Premier League's new stance on the handball law.

Prior to the 2024-25 season, the Premier League revealed they would relax their stance on the handball law as players would no longer have to keep their arms down by their sides or behind their backs.

If a ball did hit their hand, it would be judged based on the movement of their body.

'We get a sense that we give too many handballs for actions that are quite normal and justifiable,' Premier League refereeing boss Howard Webb said.

'The guidance to officials this season is less is more. You will see fewer harsh handball penalties.'