Jude Bellingham Disappointed By “Joke” Decision To Let Kai Havertz Retake Missed Penalty
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The controversial call resulted in Chelsea eliminating Borussia Dortmund from the Champions League.
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Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham was not happy after a twice-taken Kai Havertz penalty saw his side exit the Champions League at the hands of Chelsea.
Dortmund traveled to Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their last 16 encounter.
But Chelsea progressed to the quarter-finals after winning 2-0 in London.
Raheem Sterling leveled the aggregate score with a goal just before half-time on Tuesday night.
Chelsea were then awarded a penalty early in the second half.
The penalty was not initially given by on-field referee Danny Makkelie but a VAR review found that Marius Wolf had handled a Ben Chilwell cross.
Havertz then missed from 12 yards when his shot hit the post. But another VAR review granted him a second attempt.
The VAR informed Makkelie that Dortmund midfielder Salih Ozcan had been inside the penalty area when Havertz struck his shot.
Replays revealed that Ozcan was only marginally inside the area and that other players from both teams had been much closer to Havertz when he took his kick.
But Ozcan was specifically penalized for encroachment because he had intercepted and cleared the ball after it hit the post.
Havertz scored from his second penalty effort.
Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Bellingham suggested that the initial decision to award to penalty had been harsh due to the proximity between Wolf and Chilwell.
Bellingham said: “I’ve not seen the incident back, but from where I was it looked pretty close.”
After watching a replay of the incident, he added: “It is a yard or two away. I am not too sure. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Bellingham then blasted the decision to punish Ozcan for encroachment, suggesting that Havertz had prompted this with his deliberately slow run-up.
“That [handball call] in itself was disappointing but the fact they had a retake is a joke.
“For every penalty with such a slow run-up there is going to be encroachment by people running into the box by a yard or so.
“But that’s the game. They’ve made the decision and we’ve had to live with it.”