Chelsea penalty call cost us but VAR is a good thing, says Sheffield Wednesday man Joey Pelupessy

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Vaishali Bhardwaj28 January 2019

When Joey Pelupessy tumbled down into the penalty box following a challenge by Chelsea's Ethan Ampadu at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the Sheffield Wednesday midfielder was convinced he had been fouled.

So too was referee Andre Marriner, who went on to award the visitors a penalty in the FA Cup fourth-round tie before the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) correctly overturned the decision after replays showed Ampadu had, in fact, won the ball first.

The incident occurred with the score still goalless at Stamford Bridge - and moments before VAR was used to award Chelsea a penalty for Sam Hutchinson's foul on Cesar Azpilicueta down the other end of the pitch.

Willian converted the resulting spot-kick as Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners but, despite seeing VAR deny his side a penalty in what transpired to be the right decision, Pelupessy remains a firm believer in the technology.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Sheffield Wednesday | 27/01/2019

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"It was a little bit like a 50-50, but I thought it was a penalty," Pelupessy told Standard Sport when asked about his tangle with Ampadu.

"When I fell down, Steven Fletcher came to me and said 'Well done, good job' so I thought it was a penalty but after they changed it.

"They have to be right. It makes everything clearer. It's a good thing. If there was no VAR maybe we would have had a penalty! But in the end, the game needs to be clear and that's a good thing."

Sheffield Wednesday were spurred on by a 6,000-strong contigent of fans at Stamford Bridge, who created a daunting atmosphere for the hosts.

Wednesday, who currently sit in 17th place in the Championship standings, appointed Steve Bruce in early January in a bid to turn their season around although the 58-year-old will officially take charge on February 1.

And Pelupessy says he is looking forward to learning from Bruce as the midfielder also revealed how he got "goosebumps" upon hearing the support of the Wednesday supporters at Stamford Bridge.

"He worked a lot in the Premier League and also in the Championship," Pelupessy said when asked about Bruce's appointment.

"He was a big player, he played for Manchester United, so yeah I'm really looking forward to it. I think we can learn a lot from him and hopefully we improve our game, also."

After the 3-0 loss, Pelupessy was spotted holding Mateo Kovacic's shirt and, when asked why he had sought out the Chelsea midfielder's jersey, the Dutchman said: "I'm always watching the biggest midfielders in Europe and he is one of them.

"He played in the Croatia squad also, he's a good player and I'm happy with it!"

Watch the video above to see Standard Sport's Vaishali Bhardwaj chat to Pelupessy about playing Chelsea, VAR, Bruce and swapping shirts with Kovacic.

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