Why was Eberechi Eze's free-kick disallowed against Chelsea in Premier League 2025-26?

Palace thought they took a lead before the goal was ruled out.

The contentious disallowance of Crystal Palace’s first goal against Chelsea, scored by Eberechi Eze, has now been made public.

In the 13th minute, the midfielder beat Chelsea’s defence with a rocket of a free-kick that went beyond Robert Sanchez, but Marc Guehi’s act before the set-piece were declared illegal.

Eze’s shot beat the wall after the Palace defender shoved Moises Caicedo of Chelsea. But it wasn’t this that got him into trouble.

He was within one meter of Chelsea’s wall before the ball was in play, which is against the rules for players, as Guehi was less than one meter away from the wall at the time the ball was kicked which resulted in the goal being disallowed.

The reason why Eze’s goal was disallowed against Chelsea

According to Law 13 of the FA’s rulebook:

 ”Where three or more defending team players form a “wall”, all attacking team players must remain at least 1m (1yd) from the “wall” until the ball is in play.” 

Referee Darren England examined the incident on the pitchside monitor and disallowed the strike, despite the England international’s belief that he had given his team the lead in their Premier League opener.

It read: ‘After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of goal to Crystal Palace. 

‘Referee announcement: “After review, away number six is less than one metre away from the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore, it’s an indirect free kick and a disallowed goal”.’

However, the game finished in a goalless draw between the two teams despite the controversial decision by the refere.

In the meantime, the event might lead to more discussion about the Premier League’s free-kick regulations and the consistency of VAR.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.