Valencia's protest over the validity of Tuesday's UEFA Youth League penalty shootout against Chelsea will be heard at the next meeting of the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on Monday, UEFA has confirmed to ESPN FC. Chelsea triumphed 5-3 on penalties in the round-of-16 clash at their Cobham training complex after both sides ended the 90 minutes level at 1-1, but Valencia were left incensed by the officials' failure to award a goal when Alberto Gil took their first effort in the shootout. Jaccottet believed Gil's penalty had struck the post but replays showed the ball had crossed the line before striking a stanchion and bouncing out. Despite pleas from Valencia players, coaches and officials, Swiss referee Adrien Jaccottet refused to be shown TV footage of the incident and the result stood. Valencia signalled their intention to protest within hours of the final whistle by issuing an official release on their website stating: "We are confident that UEFA will give an appropriate response required by the situation." If the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body rules in Valencia's favour, they will have to decide whether to replay the penalty shootout or the entire match. Any replay could cause significant scheduling problems for UEFA, with Chelsea drawn against Ajax in the Youth League quarterfinals set to take place on March 8 and 9. Many members of the Chelsea squad will be involved in two matches before then -- Friday's FA Youth Cup clash with Reading at Stamford Bridge and an away trip to face Manchester City in the Under-18 Premier League elite round on March 5. Chelsea declined to comment while UEFA's review process is ongoing.
|