Edouard Mendy yells at Thomas Tuchel, refusing to move from the touchline in the 120th minute of the UEFA SuperCup and leave the spot between the bars for his substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga. Chelsea tactician, on the other hand, storms to the tunnel in despair after his commands are disobeyed. Eventually, Mendy fails in the shootout, and Villareal win the SuperCup trophy.Huh, what do you say, it didn’t happen? Of course, it didn’t, and you know why? Because Mendy, unlike Kepa, is not a hypocrite but a decent soldier of Tuchel’s blue army.Arrizabalaga comes in instead of Mendy (©Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)That very same Spanish keeper, Arrizabalaga, did the unthinkable in the Carabao Cup final in February 2019, when Chelsea’s then-manager Maurizio Sarri wanted to replace him with Willy Caballero in the same circumstances. However, Kepa behaved like a douchebag, a bad-mannered kid whose favourite toy was taken away from him and confronted his own coach in front of millions of viewers. Kepa refuses to be subbed in February 2019 (© Marc Atkins/Getty Images)So, let’s get this straight – for Kepa, it’s ok to come in as a late extra-time sub, but he won’t do the same when it’s his turn to go to the bench.Clearly, a football game is not a place to estimate someone’s morality, but this kind of behaviour can’t and shouldn’t be approved despite Kepa’s two saves in the last night’s shootout were decisive for the win.It would be wonderful to hear Sarri today and his thoughts on last night. He had to put up with the worst possible childish misconduct that, in some way, ruined his coaching authority for good.That’s why calling Kepa a hero is not just wrong but irresponsible if you’re older than a teenager.
