Reason for the Change of Referee at Chelsea against Leicester City Match

DBasia.news –  There is an interesting record when Chelsea drew against Leicester City in Week two of the Premier League which took place at Stamford Bridge, Sunday (8/18) evening WIB. The match referee, Graham Scott, was unable to attend as he was stuck in traffic.

Based on the release from the FA that circulated before the match, the referee who led the Chelsea match against Leicester City was Graham Scott. However, the 51-year-old referee was instead replaced by Oliver Langford.

The Premier League has given an official statement regarding Graham Scott being replaced by Oliver Langford. The Premier League does not provide further information on why Graham Scott failed to lead the Chelsea duel versus Leicester City.

Sportsmole reports, there is a unique incident behind the absence of Graham Scott. Apparently, Graham Scott had come to Stamford Bridge and must be replaced by other referees.

In fact, Oliver Langford was not included in the Select Group of the Chelsea match against Leicester. The referee is only in Group Two and is in charge of VAR. However, Langford has a license to lead Premier League matches.

Meanwhile, the reason Graham Scott was unable to arrive on time was because of a traffic jam on the M40. Departing from Oxfordshirem, Graham Scott arrived at the stadium at 16:00 local time. So, the court missed the preparation and warm-up time.

It was the first time Oliver Langford led a Premier League match. Previously, he served two seasons as a Championship referee.

Nevertheless, Oliver Langford was still able to carry out his duties properly. He did not hesitate to issue a yellow card for players who committed foul violations. For example, Langford punished Jorginho after making a violation in the 37th minute.

Meanwhile, Chelsea failed to win after only playing 1-1 against the Foxes. The Blues took the lead in the 7th minute through Mason Mount. The goal was replied to Wilfred Ndidi in the 67th minute.

With that result, Chelsea are 15th in the Premier League standings after collecting one point. In the previous match, Frank Lampard’s squad was crushed by Manchester United 4-0.