BREAKING NEWS: The Premier League panel gives its final decision on Declan Rice’s red card incident against Brighton.
Referee Chris Kavanagh had no alternative but to send off Arsenal’s Declan Rice against Brighton, according to the Premier League’s key Match Incidents panel.
The England midfielder, crucial to Arsenal’s lineup, was controversially dismissed during the match against Brighton two weeks ago.
Already on a yellow card, Rice received a second booking for preventing Joel Veltman from taking a quick free kick, resulting in his expulsion from the game.
Although Rice barely touched the ball, Kavanagh judged it sufficient to conclude that Rice had deliberately impeded his opponent.
The panel unanimously supported the referee’s decision, stating: “Rice knows what he’s doing – it’s a gentle touch, but once the referee sees it, he has no choice.”
This decision means Arsenal will be without their key midfield figure for Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham, a suspension that further complicates Mikel Arteta’s plans.
Reflecting on the decision, Arteta expressed his frustration: “I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.”
He continued, “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 a red card, so we play 10 vs 10. This is what amazed me. At this level, it’s amazing.”
Arsenal’s troubles were compounded by an injury to new signing Mikel Merino, limiting Arteta’s midfield options further, and news of Martin Odegaard’s injury while on international duty has dealt another significant blow ahead of a challenging week.
When asked about Odegaard’s condition, Norway’s team doctor said: “Martin is doing quite well now. He got a small ankle sprain. We will see throughout the evening and tomorrow what happens next and what we will do about it.”
“Ankle sprains are difficult to deal with straight away, so we almost have to see how things go forward.”
“We will examine him when we are back at the hotel. Maybe we use ultrasound to look at it. If we are unsure, there will be an MRI tomorrow.”