Thomas Tuchel Backs Calls For Anthony Taylor To Never Referee Chelsea Again

Thomas Tuchel has said "maybe it would be better" if referee Anthony Taylor was never put in charge of another Chelsea game.

Taylor officiated at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Tottenham twice came from behind to hold Chelsea to a 2-2 draw.

Tuchel was sent off by Taylor after the final whistle for clashing with Spurs boss Antonio Conte, but it was refereeing decisions in the build-up to the two equalizers that had really upset the German.

Tuchel was adamant that Rodrigo Bentancur had fouled Kai Havertz 45 seconds before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made it 1-1, while he also believed that Richarlison, who was stood in an offside position as Hojbjerg's shot flew past him, had been interfering with play.

But a VAR check conducted by former ref Mike Dean found no reason to disallow the goal.

Another VAR review occurred moments before Harry Kane made it 2-2 deep into added time.

Cristian Romero eventually survived a potential red card check for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair. After Dean had reviewed the incident, play restarted with a Spurs corner, which Kane headed into the net.

Nearly 100,000 fans have signed a petition asking for Taylor to not be allowed to referee a Chelsea game again.

Referee Anthony Taylor pictured during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Stamford Bridge

IMAGO/Sportimage/Paul Terry

The petition lists eight "big decisions against Chelsea" made by Taylor in recent seasons.

Many Chelsea fans had complained about Taylor prior to Sunday's game and Tuchel was asked in his post-match press conference if he should never referee Chelsea again.

Tuchel replied, as quoted by Sky Sports: "Maybe it would be better.

"But honestly, we also have VAR to help make the right decisions. Since when can players be pulled by their hair? Since when is that? And if he does not see it, I don't blame him.

"I didn't see it, but we have people at VAR who check this and then you see it and then how can this not be a free-kick and how can it not be a red card? How?

"This has nothing to do with the referee in this case. If he does not see something, that's why we have people to check if there's a decisive error going on."

A journalist then said to Tuchel: "There have been issues with this referee that fans think have gone on for quite a while now..."

Interrupting, Tuchel said: "Not only the fans."

Asked if he shared the concerns of those fans, Tuchel added: "You know the players, they know what's going on when they are on the pitch. They know it.

"I can assure you that our whole dressing room, every single person thinks that and I cannot understand how the first goal is not offside and I cannot understand since when players can be pulled by their hair."

Tuchel's comments questioning the integrity of referee Taylor will be investigated by the Football Association, according to BBC Sport.

This was not the first time that Tuchel had made a scathing attack on a referee after Chelsea were on the end of a disappointing result.

Last season, Tuchel hit out at Polish referee Szymon Marciniak.

Tuchel intimated that Marciniak had shown bias towards Real Madrid at the Bernabeu during Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final second leg due to a lack of courage.

READ MORE: Bitter Thomas Tuchel Slams Referee Szymon Marciniak After Real Madrid Eliminate Chelsea From UCL