Tom Olver
Published December 1, 2025 8:34am
Updated December 1, 2025 8:34am
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Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo was sent off for a late tackle on Mikel Merino (Picture: Getty)
Gary Lineker has questioned Moises Caicedo’s sending off in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal and called for slow-motion replays to be taken away when referees are sent to the VAR monitor.
Sunday’s high-stakes London derby between the two title rivals proved a scrappy affair, with fouls aplenty and clear-cut chances few and far between at Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo handed Premier League leaders Arsenal a major advantage shortly before half-time as he was given his marching orders for a late, studs-up challenge on Mikel Merino.
The Ecuador midfielder was initially shown a yellow card but this was upgraded to a red once video assistant referee John Brooks recommended that Anthony Taylor should take a closer look at the pitch-side monitor.
However, just three minutes into the second period, it was ten-man Chelsea that made the breakthrough as Trevoh Chalobah flicked a looping header beyond David Raya from Reece James’ corner.
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Makeshift centre-forward Merino dragged the Gunners back into the contest, heading home Bukayo Saka’s pinpoint cross from the right, and the match finished all square.
The result ensured Arsenal preserved their five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City in the table, with Chelsea six points off Mikel Arteta’s side in third.
Taylor upgraded the punishment from a yellow to a red after looking at the pitch-side monitor (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea broke the deadlock despite losing Caicedo at the end of the first half (Picture: Getty)
Caicedo’s red card proved to be the key talking point of the game amongst fans and pundits alike and, once the dust had settled, The Rest Is Football podcast discussed their views on the contentious incident in the 38th minute.
Ex-England and Tottenham striker Lineker said he could ‘understand’ why referee Taylor reached the decision to send Caicedo off after VAR had intervened.
But the former Match of the Day host argued the case for slow-motion replays to be removed from the decision-making process given they ‘distort’ what ‘actually happens’ in real time.
‘I don’t think they should have slow motion for things like that. It’s the same when you see still shots of peoples’ feet,’ Lineker said.
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Previous Page Next Page‘His foot wasn’t raised, it was on the ground, he was a millisecond late for the ball and slow motion makes it look terrible.
‘I understand exactly why they possibly overturned the decision but, I mean, really?!’
According to Lineker, Caicedo’s tackle on Merino would probably not have been pulled up for a foul during his playing days.
‘I don’t even think that would have been a foul in my day, let alone a red card,’ he added.
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Previous Page Next Page‘I just think slow motion distorts what actually happens because it’s like: hit the ball, dum, dum… the foot bounces on the ground.
‘If he’s got his foot in the air and above the ball, that used to be over the top, red card definitely.
‘But these ones now… I mean it looks terrible in slow motion, I get it, but when you see it, and I watched it lots of times in normal speed, it was actually just a fraction.’
Lineker wants slow-motion replays removed from the decision-making process (Picture: Getty)
Merino picked himself up from the challenge to score Arsenal’s equaliser (Picture: Getty)
Alan Shearer took a slightly different view to Lineker, claiming Caicedo’s ‘naughty’ challenge always ran the risk of receiving the harshest punishment from the officials.
‘I agree with you in terms of in your day and my day, yeah, it wouldn’t have been a red card, it was probably a normal tackle,’ the former England and Newcastle forward said.
‘But I think that when you challenge like that then you run the risk of giving the referee or the VAR the chance to send you off.
Caicedo’s challenge was ‘stupid’, according to Premier League icon Shearer (Picture: Getty)
‘I thought it was a bit naughty, I thought it was high and I thought his foot was planted and it was well above the ankle.
‘But to see it was well above the ankle you had to put it on a freezeframe, therefore, in today’s game, you can’t argue with the referee and him, eventually, however they got there, giving the red card. It was a red card, yeah.’
Shearer said Caicedo’s tackle was ‘stupid’ and praised official Taylor for his refereeing performance in a ‘tough game’.
‘I thought it was a really scrappy, bitty game, with loads of fouls, loads of players going over and pretending to be injured and hurt, trying to get others booked,’ he continued.
The Gunners sit five points clear at the top after the draw (Picture: Getty)
‘It was a bit of a scrappy game all the way through so that’s why I thought it was just a stupid tackle. You’re inviting the referee to do that.
‘Actually, I was really surprised no one got sent off in the second half as well because I thought he might even it up here.
‘To his credit, Anthony Taylor, I thought he refereed it really well. It was a tough game to referee because of the actions of a lot of the players.’
Before moving on to the rest of Sunday’s top-flight action, Lineker further underlined his stance regarding slow-motion replays.
‘I can see why they gave it but he was going for the ball, it was an honest tackle, there was no intent to harm anybody, he’s just gone in,’ he went on.
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‘Two players really quick, one got there first.
‘It would have been a red card the other way, probably, if Caicedo had nicked the ball first and then followed through.
‘I get it and I wouldn’t say it was the wrong decision, but what I would say is that I think we need to look at this slow motion business when the referees see it and they see every angle dead slow.
‘Anything that looks slow makes it look more deliberate I think but, anyway, he went off.’
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