- Data has shown that the ‘Big Six’ teams are punished the most by referees
- Arsenal recently complained about the treatment following William Saliba’s red card
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Premier League discipline data has shown that Liverpool are benefiting from the most lenient treatment from referees of the traditional ‘Big Six’ teams this season.
The age-old debate about refereeing reared its ugly head again this weekend as Arsenal were left infuriated when William Saliba was shown a red card for bringing down Bournemouth striker Evanilson when he was the last man standing in Saturday’s shock 2-0 defeat.
Mikel Arteta later decided not to appeal the sending-off, meaning Saliba will not be available for this weekend’s big match against league leaders Liverpool.
PGMOL officials were then fired upon by Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil a day later after Man City defender John Stones scored an injury-time winner at Molineux, with the decision proving controversial as Bernardo Silva found himself in an offside position next to the goalkeeper.
After the match, O’Neill cheekily accused the referees of being unconsciously biased against the traditional top six clubs, saying: ‘There’s no chance of people doing things against Wolves on purpose, but is there something in the subconscious? Are you more likely to give it to Man City than Wolves?
Data shows that Arsenal are among the teams treated most leniently by referees this season
Liverpool receive the fewest bookings of the ‘Big Six’ for the number of fouls committed in each match
Manchester United have seen captain Bruno Fernandes sent off twice this season
Mikel Arteta (left) has previously expressed anger at refereeing in the Premier League, while Arne Slot (right) will be happy to know his team is punished the least of the ‘Big Six’ sides
‘My senses are on edge when we are against Pep. Are the officials the same? They guarantee me that is not the case [bias] but they are human. Perhaps there is something subconscious that makes us less likely to get them.
“If I had to upset someone on the street and there was a little guy and a big guy, I’d upset the little guy. Nothing against little boys. But there’s something in it and she [referees] definitely don’t do it on purpose,” he added.
O’Neil has now been asked by the Football Association to clarify his comments and Opta has now revealed which teams get the green light when it comes to showing cards.
Liverpool supporters can be happy to know that their team is the least booked when it comes to the number of fouls they get away with before a card is waved.
Arne Slot’s side are currently averaging 5.3 fouls for every yellow card shown this season, while title challengers Arsenal are close behind with an average of 4.6 fouls.
Tottenham just beat their London rivals to second spot in the table with a card shown to one of their players for every 4.9 fouls made, while referees’ actions continue to come under scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s title rivals and reigning champions Manchester City are receiving the harshest treatment from the referees, with Pep Guardiola’s stars receiving a yellow card for every 2.8 fouls.
Statistics show that Manchester City are being treated the harshest by the referees of the ‘Big Six’ teams this season
Chelsea can complain of similar setbacks, with the Blues averaging a booking every 2.9 fouls, while Man United find a middle ground with a player penalized after an average of 3.3 fouls.
The PGMOL is keen to crack down on discipline this season, with players being punished more often for wasting time, as Arsenal found out the hard way.
Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard have both been given early marching orders for kicking the ball away on separate occasions, while Saliba’s weekend send-off means the Gunners top the list for most red cards handed out this season (3).
However, Man United recently had a red card rescinded to captain Bruno Fernandes after it was determined VAR had made a mistake by not overturning his sending-off against Tottenham.