EAGLE-EYED fans spotted the moment that a referee appeared to tell Cole Palmer to wipe his nose during Chelsea’s defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
scored only goal of the game as they started their campaign off with a 3-1 loss in Munich.
Cole Palmer was caught by camera’s with an unfortunate blemish during a break in play
Fans noted that referee Jose Maria Sanchez appeared to point the England star to his nose
Palmer awkwardly wiped his face in response
An own-goal from and a brace for star were enough to secure the three points.
However, it was Palmer who caught the eyes of many fans, and not just because of his return to form on the biggest stage.
The 23-year-old was caught on camera with an unfortunate bogey hanging from his nose in the first half.
It might have gone unnoticed, had the England international not stopped to chat with referee Jose Maria Sanchez.
The broadcast turned to a close up of the pair discussing in the middle of the pitch, when fans noticed Sanchez appearing to subtly gesture Palmer towards his nose.
Palmer suddenly became aware of the bogey and wiped it away, at which Sanchez looked to have given him a very slight thumbs up to let him know he got it, all while readying for play to restart.
The fans who noticed the interaction found the funny side of the awkward situation.
One fan credited the ref for his professionalism, saying: “That’s actually very nice from the ref! Sometimes you’ll have something on your face and people will just look and say nothing.”
Palmer was the bright spark for Chelsea as they fell to a 3-1 loss in Munich
Another user joked that the ref pointed it out due to the number of people sure to be watching the clash, saying: “Conference league ref woulda let it run, no one’s watching like that.”
The incident with the attacker throwing shade towards his following the loss.
He told TNT Sports: “We started well, had early chances to score but when you make mistakes at the highest level it’s always difficult to come back. There was a lack of concentration, not managing the moments correct.
“The manager said to us before he knows we can go toe-to-toe. It’s a good learning curve for tonight and to be back in the competition is nice, we just need to kick on from here.
“I don’t even know [what happened in the second half]. We’re not coming here to be a learning curve. We showed tonight that we can compete.”
