Vinnie Jones told talkSPORT he would have dealt with Kepa Arrizabalaga in a typical no nonsense fashion if he was still a Chelsea player.
The goalkeeper hit the headlines this weekend for his sensational clash with manager Maurizio Sarri after he refused to be substituted in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Jones said he would have ‘dragged’ the Spaniard off the field ‘by the scruff of the neck’, and said the incident proves there is a lack of leaders in the Blues team.
Kepa was accused of humiliating and undermining his boss by staying on the pitch when Sarri wanted to replace him with Willy Caballero in the dying moments of extra-time.
Sarri reacted furiously to the incident but insisted after the game that it was a ‘big misunderstanding’, and Kepa has now apologised for his actions and has been fined a week’s wages.
But Jones believes the other Chelsea players should have backed their boss in the moment and forced Kepa to follow Sarri’s orders.
Speaking on Tuesday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the former Blues defender said: “In my day, if I was the captain, I would have gone over to him and said: ‘Get your backside off! If the manager wants you off, you’re off, mate!’
“But no one seemed to do that.
“With the old Chelsea boys when I was there, Wisey (Dennis Wise) would have probably grabbed him by the top of the socks, but I would have got him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him off.
“There is not a big leader in that Chelsea team. Eden Hazard is a fantastic player but he’s not a leader.
“It seems a bit like the school teacher is away and the kids are doing what they like.”
The reaction to the meltdown between Sarri and Kepa was met with a strong reaction, with some insisting Kepa should never play in a Chelsea shirt again, while others claims Sarri could leave his post.
But it appears the club have swept the entire incident under the carpet, for now, and Vinnie expects it to be business as usual after the goalkeeper’s fine and dressing down by Sarri.
“The guy came for £71m, they’re not going to go too nuts on him, are they,” Jones added.
“They’ve got to have him in the next game, it’s an important game against Tottenham so I think Sarri has taken a bit of a sidestep to try and save face.”