Thiago Silva publicly digs out Anthony Taylor after Man City score controversial goal in win over Chelsea
THIAGO SILVA has thrown a dig in the direction of Premier League referee Anthony Taylor.
The former Chelsea centre-back seemingly hit out at Taylor on social media after the official’s decision not to award his former club a penalty against Man City.
The Blues were beaten 2-0 at the Bridge by four-in-a-row champions Man City with their former midfielder Mateo Kovacic at the heart of the action.
Kovacic netted City’s second goal a matter of minutes after he was the subject of controversy when the ball bounced off his elbow in the box during the second half.
Blues fans were convinced they should have been given a spot-kick when the ball ricocheted off the foot of Malo Gusto and onto Kovacic’s arm, but referee Taylor and VAR Michael Salisbury decided otherwise.
Subsequently, play was waved on and Kovacic secured all three points for his side just moments later up the other end.
It seems nobody was more upset about the decision than former star Thiago Silva, who left the club for a Brazilian homecoming this summer.
The 39-year-old veteran commented on an Instagram post detailing the decision not to award the penalty with a message that simply read: “Anthonyyyyyyyyyyyy” – seemingly hitting out at Anthony Taylor’s decision.
Silva and Taylor have history too with the Silva using social media to vent his frustrations with the referee’s decisions in the past.
Back in 2022 Silva shared an Instagram story showing Tottenham’s Cristian Romero tugging on Chelsea teammate Marc Cucurella‘s famous locks during a London derby.
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He shared the image alongside the caption: “Haven’t you seen this? No way. Can you pull hair out?”.
While pulling hair may feel like an obvious error to be missed by the officials, Sunday’s handball decision is a much more contentious subject.
The introduction of new regulations surrounding the handball law in the Premier League this season meant that Kovacic was deemed to be too close to the ball for it to be seen as a handball offence.
A post on X from the Prem’s new VAR Hub read: “VAR checked a potential penalty for a handball by Kovacic.
“He confirmed the referee’s call of no penalty, deeming the ball came from close proximity.”
Silva is still getting his fix of Prem football after re-joining former club Fluminense on a free transfer, returning to Brazil for the first time since he left for AC Milan in 2009.
The 113-time Brazil international has already featured six times for the South Americans this term and is settled back at his boyhood outfit.
Thiago Silva's career stats
Those numbers in full:
RS Futebol, 2002-2003: 25 games, 2 goals
Juventude, 2004: 36 games, 3 goalsPorto B, 2004-2005: 14 games, 0 goals
Dynamo Moscow, 2005: 0 games, 0 goals
Fluminense, 2006-2008: 143 games, 14 goals
AC Milan, 2009-2012: 119 games, 6 goals
PSG, 2012-2020: 315 games, 17 goals
Chelsea, 2020-2024: 152 games, 9 goals
Brazil, 2008-2022: 113 games, 7 goals
Trophies: Brazilian Cup (Fluminense); Serie A, Italian Super Cup (AC Milan); Ligue 1 x7, French Cup x5, League Cup x6, Champions Trophy x5 (PSG); Champions League, Super Cup, Club World Cup (Chelsea); Copa America, Confederations Cup (Brazil)