It has been a few days since Declan Rice received his red card against Brighton and Hove Albion, but Arsenal fans are still furious with the decision.
The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw against Fabian Hurzeler’s side in a game in which they were in total control up until the 49th minute.
Then, referee Chris Kavanagh made the ridiculous decision to give Rice a red card after judging him to have delayed a restart.
Arsenal fans are really angry with Rice’s red card decision, and it looks like other Premier League clubs have realised how bad a call that was too.
Premier League clubs demand consistency after red card to Arsenal’s Declan Rice
Almost every football fan will agree that referee Kavanagh got it wrong in the game between Arsenal and Brighton before the international break.
Even people like Jamie O’Hara and John Terry slammed the decision to give Rice a red card – that should tell you how bad it was. Ray Parlour even called it an ‘absolute joke’ on X, and we agree with him.
It’s time for Premier League clubs to unite against terrible decisions like this because what happened to Arsenal could easily happen to their side in the coming weeks.
The standard of refereeing in the Premier League simply has to improve, and the first step of that process is for officials to be more consistent.
That’s exactly what every club in the country wants.
The Mirror reveal that ‘Premier League clubs are demanding more consistency on refereeing clampdowns’ after what happened to Rice against Brighton.
The Arsenal star was given his marching orders for just touching the ball, but Joao Pedro and Pervis Estupinan received nothing in the same game for much worse incidents.
Clubs are right to demand consistency, but whether we will get it from the referees is anyone’s guess.
READ MORE: Ian Wright explains what makes him so ‘upset’ with VAR after Declan Rice’s red card
Arsenal suffer double blow due to Rice’s red card
Playing with 11 men in the Premier League is hard enough, but going down to 10 against a team as good as Brighton was not ideal at all.
The red card turned the game on its head and what looked like a comfortable victory for Arsenal ended up in a draw.
That is a big blow for Arteta’s side even though it’s very early in the title race, but the Gunners face another huge issue now because of that decision.
Rice is suspended for Arsenal’s North London Derby clash against Tottenham Hotspur, and that makes the Gunners significantly weaker.
It will be interesting to see who will start in Rice’s place – Jurrien Timber could be a surprise midfield option for Arsenal against Tottenham.
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