Kepa Arrizabalaga: Chelsea goalkeeper fined after apologising to Maurizio Sarri and fans in full
Arrizabalaga has been fined a week's wages for defying his manager's attempt to substitute him in Sunday's EFL Cup final
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Your support makes all the difference.Kepa Arrizabalaga has apologised to Chelsea, Maurizio Sarri and the club’s supporters for defying his manager’s attempt to substitute him during Sunday’s EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
The goalkeeper has also been fined a week’s wages for his display of disobedience, with the money to be donated to the west London club’s charity foundation.
Sarri attempted to replace Arrizabalaga with substitute Willy Caballero in the closing stages of extra time after Chelsea’s record signing had fallen to the ground with cramp.
However, Arrizabalaga refused to leave the pitch and insisted on staying on. Sarri was visibly angered by his goalkeeper’s defiance but conceded after speaking with referee Jonathan Moss.
Both Arrizabalaga and Sarri later downplayed the incident as a “misunderstanding” but the player apologised for his conduct in a statement released on Monday.
“I have thought a lot more about yesterday’s events. Although there was a misunderstanding, on reflection, I made a big mistake with how I handled the situation,” Arrizabalaga wrote.
“I wanted to take the time today to apologise fully and in person to the coach, to Willy, my team-mates and to the club. I have done this and now I want to offer the same apology to the fans.
“I will learn from this episode and will accept any punishment or discipline the club decides is appropriate.”
In a separate statement, Sarri welcomed Arrizabalaga's apology and said that he consider the matter to be closed.
‘Kepa and I have spoken about the incident. It was a good conversation. There was a misunderstanding yesterday but he realises he made a big mistake in the way he reacted," the Chelsea manager said.
“He has apologised to me, his team-mates and the club. It is up to the club if they want to discipline him according to the club rules, but for me this matter is now closed.
“The team performance as a whole was extremely positive and it is a shame to see how this incident has overshadowed our efforts in what was a very competitive Cup Final. Everyone’s focus is now on the next game and we must all now put this behind us.”
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