Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is set to find out on Monday if there will be any consequences following a video that captured him placing his hand on the face of Morato during a heated 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge. However, Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca encouraged his players to keep fighting if they need to demonstrate the spirit to maintain their strong start to the season.
Jackson, who had already been substituted, came down from the stands to join around 15-20 players and staff in a brawl as tensions escalated. Footage showed him seemingly trying to reach Morato, who was a second-half substitute for Callum Hudson-Odoi. VAR officials confirmed they had seen the incident but did not deem it clear enough to warrant violent conduct, thus not altering the on-field referee Graham Kavanagh's decision to issue yellow cards only to Marc Cucurella and Neco Williams.
Chelsea now face an FA hearing and a £25,000 fine after six of their players were booked, marking the second time this has occurred this season. It remains uncertain whether these scenes will be considered to have crossed the threshold of bringing the game into disrepute, aside from any individual disciplinary charges. Wesley Fofana was among those booked during the game, meaning he and Cucurella will miss the Liverpool fixture under the totting-up procedure.
"If you ask me if I prefer when something like that happens," Maresca said afterward. "I like the spirit of our team. In terms of emotion, the team is fighting together and I don't think some of them lose their heads. They were, all of them, in the game. I was happy with that."
"For sure, there are things that we can control and do better, and probably this is one of the things. But the way they are fighting together, the way they are doing things together, I'm very happy."
Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo, who was also booked, declined to condemn James Ward-Prowse for the deliberate grabbing of the ball that led to his sending off. "He did it for the team," he said. "It was one versus one. What I am trying to say is, 'Please referees understand that we that are there on the touchline and on the pitch. It is very emotional.'"