Thanks to SuperSport not securing the rights to broadcast the tournament, many South African football fans would have missed the drama from last night’s Carabao Cup final.

The match itself was rather dour, ending 0-0 after 120 minutes of back and forth, and Manchester City would need penalties to secure their first trophy of the season.

Cool, but all anybody is really talking about is the substitute drama in the dying seconds of extra time, when Chelsea ‘keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga openly mutinied against the wishes of his manager, under-fire Maurizio Sarri.

Kepa had been stretching and showing signs of cramp in the minutes leading up to the drama, but when Sarri attempted his final switch for the night, bringing on former Manchester City keeper Willy Caballero, the wheels came off.

In what was basically an act of mutiny, Kepa refused to leave the field, leaving Sarri fuming and Caballero slinking back to the bench.

Players showing their anger at being substituted happens all too often, but I’ve never seen a player flat out refuse to leave the field.

Madness:

– Have you EVER seen anything like it!?

Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 24, 2019

If ever you wanted proof of how player power is now out of control in the game of football, there you have it.

Kepa would go on to save Leroy Sane’s penalty in the shootout, although he did let a tame Sergio Aguero effort sneak under his body, with City winning 4-3 in the end.

How about this cheeky wink from Kepa?

KEPA ARRIZABALAGA JUST WINKED AT THE CAMERA HAHAHAHA WHAT IN THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/2KeBmdWttc

— Kunal Sanchez (@Kunal_Sanchez) February 24, 2019

After Raheem Sterling’s winning penalty, Sarri stormed straight down the tunnel, rather than heading out to console his players, and pundits were baying for blood.

From BBC Sport:

Former Blues striker Chris Sutton described the scenes as “mutiny at Chelsea” and said Kepa “should never play for the club again”.

The incident comes after weeks of speculation surrounding Sarri’s position as manager and concerns over his style of play, the so-called “Sarri-ball”.

“That should be his last performance in a Chelsea shirt,” Sutton told BBC Radio 5 live. “He’s a disgrace. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“If I was Sarri I would walk. You cannot be undermined. Why weren’t the players dragging Kepa off anyway?

“Kepa should be sacked, not Sarri. He’s been undermined – it’s the worst thing that can happen to a manager.”

Former England and Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas said it is clear “there’s a lack of respect” for the manager, but said Sarri showed “a lack of class” by storming off the pitch following defeat.

Despite being obviously disgusted by Kepa’s behaviour, and having stormed off at the final whistle, Sarri kept his cool at the press conference, sticking up for his players and painting it as a misunderstanding.

Here’s the full interview, but we’ll pick out some quotes below:

These quotes via Sport24:

“In that situation there was a big misunderstanding,” Sarri said.

“I understood there was a problem and we needed a change. I didn’t find out until the doctor arrived to the bench after a few minutes.

“It was a big misunderstanding. I understood the goalkeeper had cramp and for me he was unable to go to penalties but the problem was not cramp so he was able to go to penalties.”

…”After this match I have to say that I’m sure (I have the backing of the players) because they played exactly how I asked today and I am proud of my players,” insisted Sarri.

“We showed to everyone we could become a very solid team. Against Manchester City is not easy so I am really very happy with my players, proud of my players.”

Kepa took to Twitter to issue his statement:

Dress it up however you like, but it’s not a good look for Kepa, Sarri, and Chelsea as a whole.

You’d say Sarri is probably pretty close to being sacked, although Chelsea’s transfer ban, which means that they cannot sign players for the next two windows, could scupper their plans to bring in a big name replacement.

Also, well played to City.

If I was a Liverpool fan, I’d be worried that Pep and his team are going to be very hungry for more trophies.

[sources:bbcsport&sport24]