#3 Bad day at the office
While players from both sides did a good job of keeping the peace in what always has the potential to be a contentious affair, it was Pawson who was the more controversial figure (he took charge of the same fixture last season when the Eagles won). The first questionable decision took place early in the game when Andros Townsend’s handball inside the box went completely unnoticed by both the referee and the linesman.
The former Newcastle player clearly moved his arm towards the ball and there could be no doubt about it. He also booked Diego Costa unnecessarily when a mere caution would have sufficed especially since he had allowed much worse infractions from both sides slide in the first half.
Poor decisions from the official didn’t just stop there. Mililojevic was lucky to stay on the pitch after he committed a bookable offence whilst on a yellow. On the other hand, Gary Cahill’s foul on Zaha late in the second half should have been a booking but went by with just a warning.
