Ian Wright explains what makes him so ‘upset’ with VAR after Declan Rice’s sending off for Arsenal

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Ian Wright has now reacted to Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton, sharing his verdict on Declan Rice’s controversial dismissal.

The Arsenal midfielder was sent off for a second bookable offence by referee Chris Kavanagh, which has caused a meltdown in the media. 

While Rice’s first yellow card was incontestable, the England international’s second was a thing of great confusion, as Arsenal’s number 41 was shown a red card for an altercation with Joel Veltman. 

The Brighton defender went to take a free kick however, resulted in clattering Rice due to the fact that the 25-year-old nudged the ball marginally out of his reach.

Rice was penalised for interfering with play and was shown a second yellow, seeing him have to sit out Arsenal’s North London derby clash against Tottenham after the international break.

• READ MORE: Ally McCoist takes aim at three people in ‘brutally honest’ Declan Rice rant after Arsenal’s draw

Ian Wright shares verdict on Declan Rice’s red card in Arsenal v Brighton

The scenario saw feelings of disbelief launch around the Emirates as Rice walked down the tunnel.

There have been plenty of opinions shared on the matter, with Ian Wright the latest to comment on the midfielder’s misfortune.

Speaking about the incident whilst dissecting Arsenal’s draw on the Wrighty’s House podcast, the club legend revealed what upset him most about the double booking. 

“You can’t restart the game with a moving ball,” Wright explained.

“You know how many times we’ve seen players put the ball down and there’s no one around them and it’s moving and you take it and the referee pulls it back?

“What I’m upset about is that the VAR, who should know the rules, should have seen that the ball was moving, even though Declan was coming over to it, so you can’t restart the game anyway.”

The former Arsenal talisman was correct in his verdict, reiterating the rule that as the ball was moving at the time of Rice’s contact, Kavanagh had no grounds to show him a yellow card for interfering with play.

Wright then went on to explosively rant in the direction of VAR, calling on those at Stockley Park to have a better understanding of the rules they push so hard to implement.

“What happened is that if your guys upstairs were doing their job properly, they’d say to you, one second here, you can’t book him because the ball was moving. If they are going to do it to the letter of the law then the ball was moving.”

Rice to miss the North London derby

The most concerning part of Rice’s dismissal was the realisation that Arteta will have to travel to N17 without his prized midfielder to face Spurs.

After the international break, Arsenal face Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with incredibly limited resources in midfield, which is a nightmare scenario for the Gunners. 

• READ MORE: Mikel Arteta delivers blunt three-word Arsenal response to Declan Rice red card ‘explanation’ poser

To add to the frustration of Rice’s omission, Arteta will also be without new signing Mikel Merino, who is expected to have to wait weeks until he makes his debut after picking up an injury in training.

It’s a dire situation for Arsenal and one that has come in such controversial circumstances, with Wright’s verdict on the matter only reinforcing the questions that PGMOL have to answer.