A refereeing controversy hangs over Arsenal’s recent 1-1 draw against Brighton.
Arsenal were unable to make it three wins out of three in the new Premier League season, as Brighton held them to a draw at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
In the aftermath of the match, the headlines have been hogged by Chris Kavanagh’s decision to send off Declan Rice early in the second half. It was a decision that has courted controversy and sparked debate.
Gary Lineker and Danny Murphy disagreed over the red card, with the former feeling that the decision was harsh. Arsenal icon Paul Merson criticised the decision too.
The incident involved Rice and Joel Veltman, as the Brighton man was awarded a free kick near the visitors’ penalty area. Before it could be taken, as the ball was still rolling, Rice tapped it out of play. At the same time, Veltman had been attempting to fire the ball upfield, and ended up kicking Rice instead.
Joe Hart analyses referee after Declan Rice decision
Speaking on Match of the Day, Lineker felt that this minor infraction was not worthy of a second yellow card for Rice.
The former England striker said: “I think this is another classic example of where football has lost its mind. For people getting a red card for that, for kicking the ball about 12 inches. A second yellow which still gets him sent off.”
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, serving as a pundit on the show, then observed: “He deserved it technically, but you could see Chris Kavanagh giving the yellow card, he knew technically he needed to give that but in the back of his mind you could see ‘I don’t want to give this yellow’ but rules are rules.”
Arsenal fans certainly felt Rice was unlucky to be given his marching orders.
Arsenal regrets against Brighton
After being reduced to ten men, Arsenal immediately came under a period of sustained pressure as Brighton sought to benefit from their numerical advantage.
Less than ten minutes after Rice’s dismissal, the scores were level.
However, the Gunners still had chances to regain the lead in the final stages of the match, but lacked cutting edge in the final third.
Arsenal fans criticised Martin Odegaard’s performance, and considering Arsenal have to take on their fierce local rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in the Premier League after the international break, Mikel Arteta’s side will need to raise their levels.
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