Andoni Iraola: Why Reece James' late equaliser should have been disallowed in Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth | OneFootball

Andoni Iraola has claimed that Chelsea's equaliser against Bournemouth should have been disallowed for a bizarre reason.

Cole Palmer fired Chelsea ahead in the first half with a smart finish after a brilliant pass from Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Maresca's side had several chances to double their lead in the first half but were unable to do so.

Bournemouth improved in the second half and were awarded a penalty, which substitute Justin Kluivert converted from before Antoine Semenyo put the visitors into the lead.

Reece James came off the bench for Chelsea as he continued his return from injury and proved to be crucial, scoring a 93rd-minute equaliser from a free-kick on the edge of the Bournemouth box.

The England international sent Stamford Bridge into celebration as his side ran back to the half-way line as they looked to push for a winner, which would not come.

In the minority, Iraola and his Bournemouth side were not celebrating and instead believed that the goal should not have stood as he revealed his reasoning after the match.

As quoted by Bournemouth Echo, Iraola spoke after the 2-2 draw: “This one is very difficult because I think the result is fair. I think Chelsea were better than us in the first half. I think probably we were lucky to finish just with the 1-0.

Iraola claims that Marc Cucurella interfered with the Bournemouth wall from James' free-kick. / IMAGO / Sportsphoto

"I think we were better than Chelsea in the second half. I think we deserved the turnaround. And I think probably the point is fair, but the way we've lost the point, I don't think it's fair."

The Spaniard, who has received praise for the way he has his Bournemouth side playing as they challenge for a European spot in the Premier League, continued to reveal why he thinks Chelsea's equaliser should have been ruled out.

“I think there is a goal that they score that should be disallowed," he explained. "When they shoot the free kick, you stop the image and Cucurella is touching our wall.It should be one yard, it's not, we cannot argue if it's half a yard or three quarters, he’s touching Semenyo like this.

“And I understand the referee live, 94 minutes, the pressure of Stamford Bridge but one guy in the VAR only has to check this free kick, stop the image when he shoots. They are in a legal position, no, they are not. One second, that's it.

“This is not arguable, this is what it is. And to lose the three points here because of this, for me it's difficult to accept. Yeah, Cucurella is touching our wall. Semenyo is the last player of the last player of our wall, Cucurella, when you stop it, I’ve just seen it.

“Live, I didn't realise. And it's like this touching Semenyo, you know, you have to leave one yard and just, we cannot argue, it is what it is. And it's not fair or unfair. These are the rules."

This comes after referee Rob Jones was criticised by Maresca for not showing Bournemouth winger David Brooks a red card after he appeared to clash with Cucurella earlier in the game.

The referee was sent to the VAR monitor to review the footage and opted to give Brooks a yellow card instead of a red, which led to criticism from Chelsea fans on social media.

With neither manager being happy with the referee, they both have to settle with a point at Stamford Bridge as they compete for European places in the Premier League.