Chelsea captain Reece James will miss the start of next season after a 'stupid' red card just 19 minutes after coming on
Reece James may finally be fully fit but will still miss the start of next season due to suspension.
He Chelsea The captain received a straight red card in Wednesday night's 2-1 win at Brighton for kicking Joao Pedro.
Just 19 minutes after coming off the bench, the right-back, whose season is now over after just nine Premier League games, was dismissed in the final minutes at the Amex Stadium.
He 24 years he reacted angrily to a challenge from Pedro, where he then proceeded to kick the Brazilian off the ground.
Referee Michael Salisbury was called to the pitch monitor following VAR intervention, where he brandished James with a straight red card.
And because James already received a red card in the 4-1 defeat at Newcastle earlier in the season, he will now miss four games.
That will leave him excluded from the final clash of the Premier League campaign against Bournemouth on Sunday, and from next season's top three.
Chelsea fans were quick to express their anger on social media, with one X user saying: “Reece James, what a stupid stupid boy, petulance at its finest.”
Another posted: “This is fucking stupid of Reece James, it doesn't make any sense.”
A third added: “Shameful of Reece James. Absolutely no need to do that.”
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This fan then messaged: “That's ridiculous of Reece James. Inexcusable.”
And this furious Chelsea fan said: “This is terrible from Reece James, a captain. He could have cost us the game.”
Meanwhile, one simply said: “Brain death by Reece James.”
James' moment of madness threatened to see Chelsea waste all the points.
At the time of his sending off, Chelsea were leading 2-0 heading into injury time, but Danny Welbeck halved the deficit in his absence.
The Seagulls were unable to find an equaliser, with the Blues leapfrogging Newcastle into sixth place in the table.
And they could finish fifth if they beat the Cherries on Sunday and Tottenham lose away to Sheffield United.
