Referee Chris Kavanagh revealed to Declan Rice that he does not like the rule that allow referees to book a player for delaying a restart in a match.
The FA official sent off Rice in Arsenal’s Premier League match against Brighton.
The assistant referee said, “Remember it’s Rice; he’s already on one.”
Kavanagh replied, “Declan Rice has kicked the ball away.” The assistant referee said, “Just knocked it away; he’s on a second.” Kavanagh said, “Going to have no choice, mate.”
The referee then went ahead to issue the player a red card, saying, “You did knock the ball away. Dec, you need to go. Dec, you need to go. I don’t like it. I don’t like it. Dec, you need to go, I’m afraid.”
In the Arsenal EPL game against Brighton, the midfielder was judged to have kicked the ball away.
This happened when Brighton star Joel Veltman wanted to take a quick free kick after the defender was fouled.
The sending-off made Arsenal play 41 minutes of the second half with 10 men. The Gunners started well in the game with a Kai Havertz first-half goal.
However, in the second half, Arsenal conceded via a Joao Pedro equalizer.
Mikel Arteta reacted to Kavanagh’s decision to give Rice the second yellow card in the game.
Arteta stated the referee lacked consistency after he decided not to send Pedro out even though the Brighton attacker committed the same offense as that of Rice.
How the PGMOL Chief Official, Howard Webb, Reacted to Kavangh’s Decision to Show Rice the Second Yellow Card
The Professional Game Match official limited chief, Webb, reacted to the incident with claims that they had already warned the players about delaying restarts
If any player violates the rules related to delaying restarts they will receive a yellow card.
Webb said, “He’s seen Declan Rice commit a foul, then kick the ball away from an opponent in the process of taking a free kick.”
“We’ve messaged clearly and strongly to the players in pre-season about the importance of not getting involved with the ball”
“Once the whistle has gone, not delaying the restart in that way.”
“We’ve said we would be consistent in the way we have handled this, in the same way we did last season.”
“The number of yellow cards for delaying the restart nearly doubled last season. Because people want to see the game with tempo and flow.”
“Once he has seen Declan Rice deliberately kick the ball away from the position of that free kick, then I don’t think he has any choice but to send him off.”
When Will Declan Rice Return to Arsenal’s Starting XI?
The midfielder will be in the Arsenal starting XI against Atalanta in the Champions League. He will also play for the club against Manchester City in the Premier League on September 22, 2024.
Arsenal are looking forward to defeating Manchester City in an attempt to get to the top of the Premier League table.
