It has been a few weeks since Declan Rice received his red card against Brighton and Hove Albion, but Arsenal fans are still unhappy with that decision.
The England international was given his marching orders just a few minutes into the second half of the game at the Emirates before the international break.
Rice was judged to have delayed a restart, and the referee felt he had to intervene and send the Arsenal man on his way. That led to the Gunners dropping points in that game.
Now, the audio recording of what Chris Kavanagh told Rice after he showed him a red card has been released to the public.
What referee Chris Kavanagh admitted to Arsenal’s Declan Rice after his red card
Every Arsenal fan was furious to see Rice get sent off against Brighton.
The England star just touched the ball after Joel Veltman rolled it onto his heel. The ball barely moved two meters and the Brighton defender used that opportunity to kick Rice.
Just when everyone expected to see Kavanagh give Veltman a red card, he decided to give Rice his marching orders, which was just ridiculous.
That decision cost Arsenal two points against the Seagulls and they were even forced to play the North London Derby without Rice in the middle of their park.
Now, after the dust has settled, Sky Sports have released the audio recording to show what referee Kavanagh told Rice right after sending him off.
He said: “Dec, you need to go Dec, you need to go. I don’t like it (the rule), I don’t like it. But he’s knocked the ball. He’s kicked the ball.
“Dec, you need to go I’m afraid.”
READ MORE: Joel Veltman finally breaks silence on kicking Arsenal star Declan Rice amid ‘amazing’ admission
What the referee should have actually done with Rice instead of sending him off
Red cards should be the last option for referees every game and should be used only in exceptional circumstances.
The incident involving Rice was just not one of them.
It would’ve made sense if the Arsenal man had whacked the ball 20 meters away to stop a genuine attempt to restart the play, but everyone who has played a minute of football in their life knows Brighton were not looking to take a quick free kick there.
Veltman saw an opportunity to get Rice into trouble, and the referee fell for it.
We think Kavanagh should’ve pulled the England midfielder to the side, had a chat with him about what he had done, and given him a warning before letting the game continue.
Nobody would’ve disagreed with that, but the referee chose to get involved and that, in our opinion, ruined the game.
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