I've never seen anything like this before: substituted goalkeeper refuses to come off.

[Ron Obvious]

Near the end of yesterday's league cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City, with the score at 0-0 and inevitably headed for penalties, the Chelsea manager wants to substitute his keeper and replace him with a presumably better shot stopper, but his keeper absolutely refuses to come off. He stays on, and promptly loses the penalty shootout.

What an outrageous act of insubordination! I've seen players refuse to come on, but never one refusing to come off. How's this even legal?

If I were the Chelsea manager, this keeper would never play for me again, but there are complications: The keeper cost $70 million pounds and the manager is almost certainly on the way out anyway. If the manager resigns instead of being fired, he'd be out the rest of his contract. Still, you can't let this sort of thing go on, can you?

[shenmue]

1. Wow. Just, just, wow.

[Ponietz]

2. A good team captain represents the coach on the field and should have forced him off

This is why I believe the revolt is even more serious than it already looks.

[Ron Obvious]

3. Agreed. It looked like a complete mutiny.

It's well-known that Sarri's time is up, but nobody on the team is emerging from this with any credit. Luiz, with his half-hearted talk to Kepa, Azpilicueta, the captain, should have been the manager's spokesman but wasn't. I didn't get any vibe that the rest of the team disapproved of Kepa's actions prior to the shootout by the way they treated him.

Sarri has to strip Azpilicueta of the captaincy and make Kepa train with the reserves for a month if he's to come out of this with any credibility at all.

[peacebuzzard]

4. Incredible!

Enjoyed your post, Ron. Great clip but that scene really was heavy duty. I don’t suppose the manager and goalie will ever get along after tonight’s mess. I feel sorry for the manager.

[Ron Obvious]

5. I felt sorry for him too

The players are "worth" so much more money than the manager these days and have such hyperinflated egos because of it, it must be really difficult to manage them. They're really in charge these days. At clubs like Chelsea in particular, but even at Leicester, who sacked Claude Puell the other day because he'd lost the dressing room.

[peacebuzzard]

6. That explains it.

Great reporting Ron. Soccer has always been my favorite spectator sport.

[ornotna]

7. That was nuts

That was a stupid move by Kepa. Now he's also a weeks wages poorer and who knows what else is going to happen.