Nicolas Jackson three-match ban, Nuno Espirito Santo punishment - Chelsea red card verdict

The Chelsea and Nottingham Forest players were involved in a late melee at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon

Chelsea were forced to settle for a point from their home game with Nottingham Forest on Sunday. A Noni Madueke goal cancelled out Chris Wood's strike in a 1-1 draw.

There were some excellent saves from Robert Sanchez and Matz Sels late on to keep the score at 1-1 before an incident that had everyone talking.

Neco Williams cynically pushed Marc Cucurella on the touchline, with the Chelsea defender flying into Enzo Maresca, with the Blues head coach tumbling to the ground. A melee ensued with tempers flaring as both sets of players squared up to one another.

And new footage has shown Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson appearing to slap Forest defender Morato in the face. The referee dealt with the situation and VAR deemed there to be no action required, but it will depend on what is written in the referee's report a to whether or not there is retrospective action.

Chelsea will already receive a fine from the Football Association due to receiving six or more yellow cards during the game. Cautions for both Wesley Fofana and Cucurella mean that they will miss the Premier League against Liverpool after October's international break - as they were their fifth yellow cards already this season.

We asked our football.london writers to have their say on the incident that broke out towards the end of the match and what, if any, punishment Jackson should face.

READ MORE: Enzo Maresca and Chelsea are two games away from nightmare scenario with Man Utd and Arsenal risk

READ MORE: Chelsea receive Nicolas Jackson red card verdict after 'slap' in Nottingham Forest bust-up

Lee Wilmot

Former referee Dermot Gallagher admitted the VAR will not have seen the camera angle that shows Jackson appearing to slap Morato in the face. And because of that, the FA may step in.

You simply cannot raise your arms to other players on the pitch. Everyone knows that and it would be no surprise to see Jackson punished retrospectively for this incident.

In my opinion, he should be handed a ban. If that had been spotted on the pitch that would have been a straight red card for violent conduct and with it would come a three-match ban. That's the very least the FA should hand down to Jackson, and with Cucurella and Fofana already suspended, that would hand Maresca quite the problem ahead of the game with Liverpool.

Sam Truelove

What was Nicolas Jackson doing? The Chelsea striker wasn't even on the pitch when the brawl in front of the home side's dugout broke out. He didn't need to get involved.

Looking at Jackson's disciplinary record I'm hardly surprised, however. The 23-year-old has featured 42 times in the Premier League throughout his Blues career and has already picked up 12 yellow cards. For a striker that's not a great record.

In the modern game you cannot raise your hands at an opponent's face under any circumstances. I expect the FA will look at the footage and hand the Senegal international some sort of punishment. A hefty fine could be the most probable punishment but he could also be banned for his actions, too. If it were up to me I would hand him at least a one-game ban - he has to learn to control his emotions and this may be the best way to do it.

Isaac Johnson

Looking at the footage captured of the incident, I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson faced retrospective action. To his credit, Morato stood his ground and did not roll about like we have seen countless times in the past. But that does not make Jackson's action any less severe.

While some may argue the swipe didn't amount to much, the danger of the FA reviewing the footage and not punishing Jackson sends a dangerous and unwanted message. Players cannot be let off for forcefully attacking another's face, no matter the outcome or context.

What's also disappointing for Chelsea fans is that this is not the first time Jackson has got hot-headed - think the Chelsea penalty debacle with Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke against Everton last season. What's more, the team now might be without him for a number of games. Needless and reckless.

Stephen Killen

As mentioned above, with the officials at Stockley Park not having access to the footage, it is now in the hands of the FA and whether they decide to take further action. The media attention it has now been given could force their hand and sanction the Chelsea striker in order to set a precedent.

The scenes in the latter stages will already have alerted the governing body for a failure to control their players and it may be a catalyst for retribution for Jackson.

Indeed, you cannot decipher whether there was any malice or intention regarding the images involving Jackson. But there is a risk of raising the hand to the face of an opponent and if the FA could look to use this as an example to the rest of the Premier League and EFL as a deterrent.

Premier League rules stipulate that red cards for violent conduct or serious foul play result in a three-match ban. Although that feels harsh provided it was missed in real-time and upon review, as well as the reaction - or lack of - from Morato.

Jake Stokes

While Nicolas Jackson may have deserved a red card for the incident, a three-match ban is far too harsh for something so trivial. With that being said, the Chelsea striker has been a scapegoat of the situation.

Yes, Jackson should not have put his hand in Morato's face. Why shouldn't Neco Williams face a similar punishment? As the ball ran out of play, he recklessly pushed Marc Cucurella – at pace – into Enzo Maresca, who was swept off his feet.

What if the collision had taken out Pedro Neto and Mykhailo Mudryk too? That's a yellow card? Nuno Espirito Santo was actually some way out of his technical area during that collision, so where's his retrospective action?

Then during the brawl, just moments before the Morato incident, Jota Silva shoved Jackson. Should he not be punished too? Ultimately, if Jackson is going to receive retrospective action then so should those who have also done wrong – no matter how big or small.

Rob Guest

You have to question what Nicolas Jackson was doing when both sets of players came together in front of the Chelsea dugout late on in the draw against Nottingham Forest. You can understand the player coming onto the pitch to try and break things up but that's not exactly how things played out.

The striker took a swipe at Nottingham Forest defender Morato and it wouldn't be a surprise at all if faces retrospective action from the FA following the incident. There was no need for Jackson to do what he did and now he could possibly be either handed a fine or a ban if the FA believe that is the right action to take, thus giving Enzo Maresca more selection issues in the process.

If it is to be a ban, a one-game suspension might be the ideal punishment as a three-game ban would seem rather harsh.

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