Why Chelsea’s Pedro Neto Is Facing Extended Ban for Arsenal Red Card

The Portuguese’s dismissal was the ninth of an ill-disciplined Blues campaign.

Pedro Neto saw red in Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

The sending off of Pedro Neto certainly didn’t aid Chelsea’s cause against Arsenal on Sunday, and the Portuguese’s reaction to receiving two yellow cards could come back to haunt him—the FA have confirmed a charge of allegedly “acting in an improper manner” towards referee Darren England.

Neto’s wild, counter-attack stopping lunge on Gabriel Martinelli was certainly worthy of a booking, but the 25-year-old had some choice words for the official before leaving the field having been carded minutes earlier for showing dissent.

Clearly fond of treading the speaking out of turn path, Neto preceded to berate England for, what one can only assume, was his decision to issue the first yellow card. He didn’t stop either once he eventually walked around the perimeter of the Emirates Stadium pitch, engaging in a futile exchange of words with fourth official Stuart Attwell before being led off down off the tunnel by members of Chelsea’s coaching staff.

Needless to say, the FA have taken issue with Neto for “failing to leave the pitch promptly and/or used abusive words towards the match officials.”

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What Punishment Could Neto Receive?

Neto’s first booking was needless. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images/X/SkySportsPL

Being sent off for two yellow cards results in an automatic one-match ban—and that’s something Neto has already served after sitting out Wednesday’s night game with Champions League qualification rivals Aston Villa.

Luckily, the Blues didn’t miss the exhilarating right winger, regarded by many to be one of the best in the world in his position, as they dismantled Villa 4–1 on their own patch, courtesy of a hat-trick from the ever-improving João Pedro.

The FA’s charge, however, could add at least another game onto Neto’s ban, providing he’s found guilty of the alleged offense. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers ace has until Monday, March 9 to respond to the charge.

Manager Liam Rosenior revealed Neto had apologized to Chelsea’s squad for the red card, which was the Blues’ ninth—10th if you include one for former boss Enzo Maresca—of what’s an increasingly ill-disciplined season, and admitted steps must be taken to “create a culture of accountability.”

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Chelsea’s red card hall of shame

Wesley Fofana saw red against Burnley. | Izzy Poles/AMA/Getty Images.

• Robert Sánchez (vs. Man Utd, lost 2–1)
• Trevoh Chalobah (vs. Brighton, lost 3–1)
• João Pedro (vs. Benfica, won 1–0)
• Malo Gusto (vs. Nottingham Forest, won 3–0)
• Liam Delap (vs. Wolves, won 4–3)
• Moisés Caicedo (vs. Arsenal, drew 1–1)
• Marc Cucurella (vs. Fulham, lost 2–1)
• Wesley Fofana (vs. Burnley, drew 1–1)
• Pedro Neto (vs. Arsenal, lost 2–1)

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“It needs to improve,” he said. “My job is to create a culture of accountability, where if you make a mistake it’s OK, you hold your hands up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake.

“If I make a wrong team selection or I get something wrong, my job is to be accountable. It’s the same for my players in that moment.”

“I just need to see an improvement in the behaviour now. It’s not just Pedro,” he continued. “People speak about dissent; we’ve had needless bookings in terms of fouls. If we are to improve and get to where we want to be, we have to make a conscious step now to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

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Chelsea’s Perfect Response After Arsenal Defeat

João Pedro continues to shine for Chelsea. | Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

If it was a reaction Rosenior was looking for from his players following the defeat to Arsenal, he certainly got one against Villa. But things did get off to an inauspicious start against Unai Emery’s side.

Just 125 seconds were on the watch when Douglas Luiz rattled the hosts into an early lead, making a mockery of a curious-looking pre-match huddle that saw Chelsea’s players gather around the ball on the center spot.

But João Pedro responded with a brace for the interval, before Cole Palmer got back on the scoresheet to put extend Chelsea’s lead. Pedro put the cherry on the top of Rosenior’s cake, taking his Premier League goals tally to 14 for the season—only Erling Haaland (22), Igor Thiago (18) and Antoine Semenyo (15) have more.

Neto’s statistics from his 28 top flight appearances aren’t so impressive, but his five goals and four assists have coupled with increasingly prominent performances. Furthermore, he’s started 83% of Chelsea’s Premier League games this season, completing 82% of total minutes—far more than the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens and Estêvão, who is still establishing himself in west London after a rapid emergence.

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