Arsenal fans will be none too pleased to see PGMOL boss and former Premier League referee Howard Webb defending the decision to send off Declan Rice in the recent game against Brighton.
The England international was shown a second yellow for kicking the ball away and delaying the restart, although many Arsenal fans and indeed neutrals feel it was a hugely over the top decision by Chris Kavanagh, who also leave a similar incident from Brighton player Pedro. slide in the same game.
Rice ended up being suspended for the North London Derby in what could have been a costly absence for Arsenal, although in the end they still won that game 1-0, although they couldn’t find a way to the winner in that match. against Brighton, which ended 1-1.
Watch below as Webb explains why he believes Kavanagh got this controversial call right, despite so much widespread criticism of the decision…
Arsenal fans will no doubt feel they deserve a better response than this, but one imagines there will be fans of all teams who feel equally aggrieved throughout the season.
Referees need to make sure they aren’t overreacting or in fact missing important decisions, but it’s also important that they don’t back down too much just because certain people can make a lot of noise about specific incidents.
Arsenal return to Champions League action tonight as they take on Atalanta, while this weekend they take on Manchester City in a six-point Premier League race.
