Mikel Arteta reveals he was ‘amazed’ Declan Rice was sent off in Arsenal’s draw with Brighton – but Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler insists the incident was a ‘clear red card’
- Mikel Arteta expressed his surprise after Declan Rice was sent off at the Emirates
- Midfielder gets first red card in Arsenal’s draw with Brighton
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Mikel Arteta was surprised and ‘surprised, surprised, surprised’ when Declan Rice was shown a controversial red card for helping Brighton to a draw against Arsenal.
In the first half, Joao Pedro, who later scored Brighton’s equaliser, kicked the ball away, but referee Christopher Kavanagh decided not to award a yellow card.
However, four minutes into the second half, Rice received his second yellow card for pushing the ball away from Joel Veltman as he attempted to take a quick free kick.
Rice had been shown a yellow card earlier in the match for a reckless foul on Veltman.
Arteta said: ‘I was surprised. Surprised, surprised, surprised because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half there are two incidents and nothing happens.
Mikel Arteta has expressed his displeasure at the decision to send off Declan Rice against Brighton
Referee Chris Kavanagh gave Rice a second yellow card for pushing the ball away from Joel Veltman
‘Then, in a non-critical spot, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn’t see the player coming and touches the ball.
‘The law says he can make that call, but the law says he has to make the next call, which is a red card, so we’re playing 10-on-10. That’s what surprised me. At this level, it’s amazing.
‘Anyway, I repeat myself – according to the law, you have to do it if you want to do it, but you have to do it in the first half and play 10-a-side. That’s it. Very simple.’
A disappointed Bukayo Saka also called for ‘consistency’.
“We just want some consistency,” Saka said. “Joao Pedro shot the ball halfway down the pitch in the first half and got nothing for it. Dec got the slightest touch and got sent off.”
Although Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler claimed the two situations are not comparable.
The Gunners manager highlighted what he sees as ‘inconsistency’ in refereeing decisions
Meanwhile, Fabian Hurzeler insisted Kavanagh’s decision was fully justified
He said: ‘You can’t compare these two situations. The first one with Joao is a free kick, so it’s a static situation. (The other one is) more of a dynamic situation, it wasn’t even a clear out, so we tried to keep the ball in play.
‘(It’s) a clear red card. He (Rice) shoots the ball away, it’s a waste of time.’
‘So never compare these situations with each other, because in football no two situations are the same.’
