LONDON – After Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted in Sunday’s League Cup final, AFP Sport looks at three other infamous in-game refusals...
Carlos Tevez
Tevez was accused by Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini of refusing to come on as a substitute for Manchester City in their Champions League match against Bayern Munich in September 2011.
The Argentine international striker blamed the incident on a “misunderstanding”, the same word used by Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri for Kepa’s antics on Sunday.
Tevez was eventually exiled by the club for five months before returning to play a major role in City’s run to the Premier League title.
Lukasz Fabianski
Swansea goalkeeper Fabianski was hurt against Tottenham in 2017 after colliding with Vincent Janssen ,and coach Paul Clement told reserve Kristoffer Nordfeldt to get ready.
Fabianski refused to come off when his number went up in the 86th minute, and Clement eventually turned to the fourth official to cancel the change.
However, Fabianski let in three goals in the final minutes, turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 defeat.
Nikola Kalinic
Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic was sent home from last year’s World Cup after coach Zlatko Dalic said he had refused to come on as a substitute against Nigeria.
Dalic said Kalinic had claimed he was not fit to play, but that was not good enough for the manager, who took the country to the final, where they lost to France.
The 31-year-old Kalinic, capped 41 times, has not played for the national team since.
😳 - Have you EVER seen anything like it!?
Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! 😡 pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 24, 2019