New Arsenal punishment, Arteta anger, replacement problem – Final Declan Rice red card verdict
Arsenal star Declan Rice was shown the first red card of his professional career in Saturday’s Premier League clash against Brighton. After picking up a caution in the first half for a late challenge on Joel Veltman, Rice was again involved with the Seagulls defender in the incident that led to his dismissal.
In an attempt to help the Gunners push for a second goal, Rice was hassling Veltman in the latter’s defensive half only for Chris Kavanagh to deem he was doing so illegally. Seconds after the whistle was blown for a foul, the Brighton full-back tried to take the free kick quickly only for Rice to gently tap the ball away from his stride and out of play.
With the midfielder having delayed the restart, he was shown a second yellow card and given his marching orders early in the second half. With Arsenal a man down, Brighton took advantage as Joao Pedro bagged the equaliser to help Fabian Hurzeler’s side leave north London with a share of the spoils.
As a result of the red card, Rice will be suspended for the North London Derby against Tottenham with it fair to say Mikel Arteta was left furious by the decision. I was amazed,” he said in a press conference. “Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens.
“Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn’t see the player coming and he touches the ball. By law, he can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10vs10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing.”
Plenty of pundits and former Premier League referees have had their say on the controversial incident with many of the belief he should not have been dismissed despite the rules stating his offence is a yellow card offence.
