Kepa Arrizabalaga Fined by Chelsea Amid Reports of Dressing-Room Split

Chelsea confirmed on Monday that their goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has been fined following the extraordinary scenes at the end of Sunday's Carabao Cup final. 

The Blues star appeared to refuse to be substituted by his manager Maurizio Sarri, prompting a furious reaction from the Italian coach.

While Sarri said after the game, which Chelsea lost against Manchester City after a penalty shootout, that the matter was a misunderstanding, the club have since taken disciplinary action against Kepa, fining him and donating the amount to the Chelsea Foundation.

Kepa and Sarri both made follow-up statements on the club's official website.

"I have thought a lot more about yesterday's events," read a section of the goalkeeper's quote. "Although there was a misunderstanding, on reflection, I made a big mistake with how I handled the situation. I wanted to take the time today to apologise fully and in person to the coach, to Willy [Caballero], my team-mates and to the club. I have done this, and now I want to offer the same apology to the fans."

Sarri said he has had a "good conversation" with Kepa and the player now "realises he made a big mistake in the way he reacted [...] for me, this matter is now closed."

Here is a reminder of how the remarkable incident played out at Wembley:

While Chelsea have sought to move beyond this incident, all is not well in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge, according to Sami Mokbel and Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail.

Willy Caballero, who was supposed to come on to replace Kepa, is said to be angry. Additionally, other splits are said to have emerged in the squad, with some team-mates reportedly "furious" about the 24-year-old's actions.

Liam Twomey of ESPN FC noted this type of reaction is almost unprecedented from Chelsea:

For Sarri, this moment came at the worst possible time. Not only was he under pressure heading into this game, but his team had turned in a much-improved performance in the final. A fortnight earlier they had lost 6-0 to City, but there was little separating them in the game.

Instead of the focus being on his players responding to his coaching methods, the talk has been about Kepa and the manner in which the goalkeeper has apparently undermined the coach's authority.

Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph thinks Sarri should have handled the incident in a better way:

Former Sunderland goalkeeper David Preece thinks the moment says a lot about Sarri's standing in the Blues dressing room:

Next up for Chelsea will be a home showdown with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday in the Premier League.