Jose Mourinho has had his say on the controversial incident which saw Kepa Arrizabalaga refuse to be substituted during Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Chelsea produced a much-improved performance as they forced the showpiece final at Wembley all the way to penalties, but it was the to and fro involving Kepa and his manager Maurizio Sarri in the final minutes which made the headlines.
The Spaniard’s number was shown on the fourth official’s board, with Willy Caballero primed to come on in his place, late in extra-time.
But the goalkeeper, who had already required treatment for an apparent bout of cramp, waved the substitution away, with Sarri livid.
The 24-year-old went on to save Leroy Sane’s penalty in the shootout, but City won 4-3 as Jorginho had his effort saved and David Luiz hit a post before Raheem Sterling scored the decisive spot kick.
Kepa has received widespread condemnation for his actions but Mourinho, while having sympathy for how it made Sarri appear, liked the “personality” the goalkeeper showed in such a high-profile moment.
“I don’t like that he leaves his coach and the assistant coach in a situation of great fragility,” he said while working on behalf of DAZN in Spain. “Luckily I never had to go through this.
“The goalkeeper wants to show his personality, his confidence, wants to show that he is there and wants to be at the shootout and make saves – and I like that.”
Former Chelsea captain John Terry, watching on from a television studio, said what Kepa did showed a lack of respect.
“Once your number goes up you have to come off and show a bit of respect,” he said on Sky Sports. “Deal with that after. That’s the last thing the players want.
“It leaves Sarri in a tough place – I’m surprised he didn’t force him to come off. It’s a cloud over a really good Chelsea performance especially with what’s happened of late, as the results and performances haven’t been good enough. It’s disappointing – let’s see what happens now.
“If I was in there [dressing room] I’d be expecting the manager to come in and deal with it instantly.”
Kepa afterwards clarified in an interview and on social media his view of the incident.
“It was misunderstood. In no moment was it my intention to disobey, or anything like that, with the boss,” said Kepa, who signed from Athletic Bilbao last summer in a world record fee for a goalkeeper of £71.6million.
“He thought I couldn’t continue, and – fundamentally – I was trying to say that physically I was fine.”
The situation was clarified only after the medics who had been treating Kepa returned to the dugout.
However, the intervening period had seen Sarri angrily charge down the tunnel.
“Kepa was right, but wrong in the way he conducted himself,” Sarri said.
“I was really angry. I want to talk with him because he needs to understand that we can get in trouble, especially with you (the media).”