There were extraordinary scenes at the end of Chelsea’s thrilling comeback win over West Ham, with Adama Traore on the rampage, handbags galore and a red card for a throat-grab.
Chelsea had just knocked the stuffing out of the Hammers by completing a stoppage time comeback from 2-0 down to lead 3-2.
And then chaos was ignited when Traore lost his cool and threw Cucurella to the ground by the scruff of his neck like a ragdoll.
That sent the home fans into a furious frenzy and their team followed suit, piling in. Pedro tried to confront Traore who bull-rushed him and the Brazilian quickly retreated.
Jean-Clair Todibo then came steaming forwards, grabbing Pedro by the throat and pulling their faces close together before his grip was wrestled loose.
At the same time, there was a melee involving seven players shoving each other in close proximity.
Jean-Clair Todibo (left) was sent off for grabbing Joao Pedro around the throat
There was a mass brawl towards the end of the thrilling encounter at Stamford Bridge
Adama Traore was in the thick of it and received a yellow card for his part in the incident
Todibo issued an apology to West Ham supporters for his red card on social media
When the camera panned back to a furious looking Todibo, Gary Neville on commentary said: ‘The eyes have gone. You’d better stay away from him in the tunnel as well if you’ve got a blue shirt on. He’s not calmed down yet. His head has gone.’
There was also a smaller incident involving Cole Palmer and Konstantinos Mavropanos, who gave the Chelsea star a faint slap but avoided being sent off, unlike Todibo, who was given his marching orders by Anthony Taylor following a VAR check.
When Neville watched the replay again he said: ‘At one point he’s got hold of his neck and looks like he’s trying to eat him!’
Todibo later issued an apology to West Ham fans on social media following his dismissal.
Under the tension and intensity of the match, I made an inappropriate gesture, contrary to the values of football,’ Todibo wrote.
‘I fully acknowledge my mistake, without excuse or justification, and I take responsibility.
‘This behaviour does not reflect who I am as a person.
‘I sincerely apologise to my club, my team-mates, our supporters, and anyone who may have been affected by this gesture.’
Todibo went steaming into Pedro having not been part of the play that caused the furore
The West Ham defender was sent off by Anthony Taylor after VAR sent him to the monitor
Pedro received yellow cards for his part in the incident but it will matter little to him.
He scored the first goal in the comeback and later laid on the assist for Enzo Fernandez to snatch the three points.
After play finally resumed, Chelsea had to defend a corner from the nine men and did so successfully before Taylor had seen enough and blew the final whistle.
Replays would suggest a number of players were lucky to escape without further sanction from the fracas before full-time.
Traore in particular, only picked up a yellow card for his WWE-style wrestling move on Cucurella, who was flung to the turf having wound up the Spaniard with some gamesmanship.
West Ham had taken the lead through Jarrod Bowen in the first half before stunning the home side with Crysencio Summerville’s brilliant finish to a lovely move.
But Liam Rosenior made three changes at the break, taking off Alejandro Garnacho, Benoit Badiashile and Jorrell Hato for Pedro, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella.
It proved to be decisive, with Cucurella nodding in the second and Fofana laying on the assist for Pedro’s opener.
Ultimately it was the Hammers who are licking their wounds having fought so hard to put themselves in a commanding position before combusting both on the scoreline and in the wild scenes late on.
