“Robbed”- Arsenal fans fume after referee hands CONTROVERSIAL red card to Declan Rice as Gunners drop points to Brighton
Declan Rice given marching order in a bizarre sequence of events as Arsenal drops two crucial points against Brighton.
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka (image courtesy: X)
Things went bonkers at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal dropped two crucial points against Brighton Hove and Albion. To add to that, the marching orders issued to Declan Rice left the fans and the coach simmering. Playing with 10 men for almost 45 minutes, the Gunners did concede their lead but held their nerves to walk out with a point.
Shortly after play resumed in the second half, Chris Kavanagh brought out a second yellow for Declan Rice, resulting in his expulsion from the pitch. He was penalised for allegedly impeding the course of play of a Joel Veltman freekick. However, the surprising part of the foul happened later, when Veltman got up and swung his leg unprovoked from behind bringing down Rice. Sadly enough for the Arsenal fans, Joel Veltman walked scot-free while Rice was given a second yellow, which resulted in a red.
I was amazed. 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 [the referee] can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10 vs 10. This is what amazed me. At this level it's amazing.Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s coach, said in the post-match presser
Tempers flared at Emirates for many calls not being made against the visitors. One of the incidents that warranted a card was when Joao Pedro kicked the ball into the fans while it was on its way out. Rice received his first yellow for a sliding charge into Veltman and the tensions between the two kept on boiling. At the end of it all, it was the Arsenal midfielder who had to bear the brunt and shortly after Joao Pedro found the equalizer.
Fans react to the red card decision against Declan Rice
The game started on a decent exchange as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard had an early chance but the former’s shot was well kept by the Brighton goalkeeper. Five minutes later, Brighton had their first chance of the game as Yankuba Minteh smashed his header onto the post before David Raya pulled off a crucial save.
It was Kai Havertz who flipped in the opener from an excellent delivery knitted together by Bukayo Saka. Havertz’s precision chip worked wonders while Bart Verbruggen remained a mere spectator. However, Arsenal’s triumph at home was transient as soon after the red card, Joao Pedro nudged home the equalizer from a rebound that came on the back of David Raya’s stellar save. Fans on X weren’t particularly happy with how things proceeded.
Despite the controversy, Brighton and Hove Albion have started the Premier League with a bang. They blew apart a numerically depleted Everton by 3-0 before edging past Manchester United with a late finish from Joao Pedro. They continued their fine run with another point away from home and that too against a formidable Arsenal.
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Rohit Ganguly
(407 Articles Published)