Sarri has complete backing of Chelsea big-wig Granovskaia over Kepa bust-up… but no promises over future
The Blues boss initially tried to play down the incident at Wembley as a misunderstanding but has been given a boost with the support of the key director
MAURIZIO SARRI received much-needed backing from Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia over the Kepa Arrizabalaga bust-up - but did not get any assurances over his future.
According to , the Blues boss, 60, spoke with Granovskaia at Wembley after the substitution fiasco.
Sarri initially tried to play down the incident by claiming it was simply a misunderstanding.
The goalkeeper then released a statement later on Sunday evening via social media to back up what his boss said.
But during their conversation at Wembley, Sarri and Granovskaia decided Kepa needed to be disciplined.
Granovskaia - a senior adviser to Roman Abramovich over the last 18 years - and the rest of the board thought the Twitter apology was not enough.
That in turn led to a formal apology from Kepa on the club's website.
He was also fined one week's wages - around £190,000 - which was donated to the Chelsea Foundation.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference yesterday, Sarri said: "We don’t want to kill him.
"He said sorry to his team-mates, to the club. He made a big mistake but we need to be tolerant.
"We spoke and he said sorry — but that was not enough.
"It was a board decision to fine him. He has to accept the club’s decision."
However, despite this, Granovskaia did not give the Blues boss any further backing in terms of his long-term future at the club.
The Italian is under pressure after the heavy Premier League defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City in recent weeks.
As SunSport told you this morning, Sarri has also been given the support of Granovskaia to drop Kepa for tonight's home clash with Tottenham.
The way he handled the aftermath of the Wembley incident saw his stock rise with the Russian-Canadian, who joined the Chelsea board in 2013 and tends to deal with player transactions such as transfers and contracts.
Sarri added: "Kepa made a big mistake, there are some consequences. If the consequence is to be on the bench, he has to be ready to go to the bench.
"It will be a decision for the good of the group. I want to send a message to them. I don’t know if he will play. I have to decide."