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Victor Moses sent off in FA Cup final for diving (Video)

By Jake Goldstein-Street

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 27: Victor Moses of Chelsea is show his second yellow by referee Anthony Taylor during The Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 27: Victor Moses of Chelsea is show his second yellow by referee Anthony Taylor during The Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /
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In an FA Cup final full of controversy, Victor Moses was given his second yellow card for simulation.

In the second half of the FA Cup final, with Chelsea trailing 1-0, Victor Moses attempted to win his side a penalty by going down without any contact from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The referee saw right through Moses’ acting and immediately gave him his second yellow of the match.

Chelsea responded surprisingly well to the setback. In the 76th minute, Diego Costa slotted home a shot to equalize the match. However, Arsenal came right back with a goal of their own on a diving header from Aaron Ramsey.

This is not the first controversial moment of the match. In the fourth minute, Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring with a goal that could have been negated for a handball.

Before being sent off, Moses looked like he could have made a difference for Chelsea in the second half. From the right wing-back position, he made a number of good runs down the sideline to create chances for an otherwise struggling Blues attack. The red card came just 11 minutes after his first yellow card for a malicious foul on Danny Welbeck on the left wing.

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N’golo Kante, a fellow Chelsea midfielder, was given a yellow just minutes after Moses was given his first. Meanwhile, the referee gave three yellows to Arsenal, as well. Rob Holding, Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey were each booked.

Moses’ sending off didn’t prove to be a decisive turning point in the match, and Chelsea should never have conceded Ramsey’s winner, but even so, the wing-back should have known better than to dive on a booking.

Arsenal dominate much of the match, but it was an open enough contest that Chelsea should have been confident of getting an equalizer. They’ll have to settle now for just the Premier League title, on the back of a record 30 wins in a 38-game season. Not too bad, then.

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