Eberechi Eze looked as though he said his goodbyes to the Crystal Palace fans at Stamford Bridge after being denied what might have been the perfect farewell by a little-known rule .

Eze had been a doubt to start against Chelsea, because of Tottenham Hotspur’s attempt to sign him for £55m plus add-ons, but thought he had given Palace the lead with a stunning first-half free-kick.

At first glance it looked like Eze’s free-kick had been harshly ruled out by VAR for a push by Marc Guehi on Moises Caicedo in the wall.

But, in fact, it was because Guehi had been within a metre of the Chelsea wall, as confirmed by referee Darren England in his announcement to the Stamford Bridge crowd.

The rule has been in place since 2019 and yet not too many inside Stamford Bridge on Sunday would have be

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