Emmanuel Emegha faced heavy criticism after he shoved Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk during Chelsea's Carabao Cup penalty shootout loss.
The 23-year-old striker could not prevent the West London side from falling to Liverpool in a tense shootout.
Emegha, who missed his spot-kick alongside teammate Wesley Fofana, became the focus of a major incident at Anfield.
After the Dutch captain had delivered a pass, the Chelsea forward was seen launching himself into Van Dijk.
Having moved to Chelsea from Strasbourg, a sister club of BlueCo, Emegha left the Liverpool skipper furious over the off-the-ball clash.
Van Dijk, 35, appeared stunned when referee Darren England chose not to issue a card.
Fans quickly took to social media, with many arguing the player should have been sent off.
One user wrote: "That's genuinely embarrassing."
Another added: "Refs have lost their mind. That has to be a red. You can't just hit a player ten seconds after they've passed the ball."
A third observer said: "Literally accelerated AFTER the ball was played."
A fourth noted: "Even the dirtiest players would try to disguise that. Charging in full force a full second after the ball is gone is insanity."
And a fifth raged: "I'm genuinely dumbfounded by this."
Emegha could see more minutes soon after Joao Pedro was sidelined with injury.
The Brazilian, 25, had been Chelsea's primary striker early in the season.
Blues manager Xabi Alonso also signed Danny Welbeck for a reduced fee to add depth.
Chelsea will be eager to return to winning form when they host a struggling Manchester United on Saturday.
