Referee Chris Kavanagh has said he is “not happy with the rule” that allows Declan Rice to be booked for delaying the restart. The referee had already booked the Arsenal midfielder for a second time in last month’s 1-1 draw with Brighton.
Rice had already been booked, but was adjudged to have fouled a Brighton defender in the second half of the game on August 31 before clearing the ball out of the path of Joel Veltman.
Beltman kicked the midfielder, causing him to fall, but he was sent off when he got back up.
The sending off was a huge blow for Arsenal, who were leading 1-0 at the time, but Joao Pedro equalised as the game ended 1-1.
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left frustrated with the ‘inconsistency’ of referees after Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after the match he was “surprised” by the decision and accused Kavanagh of “instability” in not booking Brighton striker Pedro for a similar incident earlier in the game.
As part of the ‘Mike Up’ program that aired on Tuesday night, the referees recorded the incident, in which Kavanagh told Rice he was in a “terrible position” and should be ejected.
“Deck, we have to go,” the official said at the time.
“I hate (the rule), I hate it. But (Rice) hit the ball. He kicked the ball. Deck, you have to go, I’m scared.”
The Web’s assessment of Rice’s departure
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Mike Dean reacts to Declan Rice’s controversial sending off during Arsenal’s game against Brighton.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief referee Howard Webb said Cabana felt he had no choice but to send Rice off and that the PGMOL had warned players before the season started that any such offence would result in a warning.
Webb explained referee Cabana’s decision: “The referee clearly saw Declan Rice clear the ball from an opponent as he was taking the free kick after committing a foul.
“We sent a clear and strong message to our players during the preseason that it was important that they did not get involved with the ball after the game had ended and that they did not delay the restart in that way.
“We said we would be consistent in how we dealt with this issue as we did last season. The number of yellow cards for delaying restarts almost doubled last season because people want to see the game with tempo and flow.
“If he saw Declan Rice deliberately and clearly kicking the ball away from a free-kick position, I don’t think he had any choice but to send him off.”
Was it significant that the ball was rolling before Rice kicked it?
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Dermot Gallagher has overruled the red card given to Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice during the controversial win over Brighton after he kicked the ball away after a foul on Joel Veltman.
Arsenal fans were outraged on social media when replays showed the ball rolling away before Veltman attempted to kick it, suggesting Rice’s actions were meaningless.
According to Rule 13.2 of the Game, “The ball must remain stationary and the kicker must not touch it again until it has touched another player.”
But Webb believes the argument that the ball rolled was dismissed because Rice wanted to kick it away. “The ball may have rolled away, but Declan Rice still wanted to kick it away,” he said.
“It still has that impact and we have to look at what the player does in that situation. He acts in a very clear way and decides to take the ball away from the opponent.
“It is the referee’s job to deal with everything else, but in this situation, Rice’s actions were designed to delay the restart, so I don’t think there would be any complaint if he was shown a yellow card for his actions.
“In that situation, the referee focuses on Rice’s actions and decides that he should be dealt with because his actions were deliberately designed to kick the ball away, even though he had no intention of getting close to the ball in the first place.
“Rice, who has conceded a free kick, knows he has to get out of it and take the free kick and the referee has to do the rest.”
Shouldn’t Brighton’s Pedro have been booked for kicking the ball away earlier?
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left frustrated with the ‘inconsistency’ of referees after Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton.
Meanwhile, Webb believes Brighton striker Pedro should have been booked for kicking the ball away in the first half, adding that the Kavanagh-led referees were “too lenient” on the Brazilian.
“He should have been booked,” Webb said. “It’s a different type of scenario, but it falls into the same category as delaying a restart. Of course, he should have been warned here.
“The officials on the pitch thought the action didn’t really have much of an impact because they gave him too much of an advantage and the Arsenal defenders were too far away to take the throw-in and too far away from the ball. Veltman, on the other hand, was right there.
“But it is clear that Pedro’s actions had an impact and delayed Arsenal’s restart. Yes, he should have been shown a yellow card and we communicated that to the referee.
“We want to be consistent in applying these types of disciplinary sanctions. We are committed to dealing with players who delay the restart.
“Just because you touch the ball after the whistle has blown doesn’t mean you should necessarily get a yellow card. You have to look at the impact of the players and what their intentions were. There may be no impact at all and you won’t get a yellow card.
“But if we look at the impact, in Pedro’s case, we should see a yellow card. That’s the feedback we gave to the referee.”
Should Beltman have been ejected as well?
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Brighton defender Joel Veltman has admitted he was surprised to see Arsenal’s Declan Rice sent off after an altercation between the two players during the 1-1 draw.
After the match, Arsenal manager Arteta said Rice should have been sent off “according to the law”, but only if Veltman had also been shown a red card for the incident.
Asked whether the Brighton defender should have been sent off for violent conduct, Webb said: “The ball is there, he took the free-kick so there’s nothing else to say about it.”
“He (Belten) looked up the field and tried to kick the ball, but Rice’s movement took the ball away from him.
“So I don’t think there’s anything you can do in that situation (by kicking the ball), because it’s the player who got the free kick who has to kick the ball.”
The full text of Cabana sending Rice
Joel Veltman passed the ball to Declan Rice, who then blocked the Brighton defender from taking the free-kick.
AR1: “Remember that guy is Rice, he’s already having a drink.”
KAV: “Declan Rice cleared the ball.”
AR1: “I just cleaned it up, he’s the second one.”
References: “You have no choice, my friend.”
AR1: “This is the second yellow colleague.”
References: “I know. I have no choice.”
AR1: “Yes, the restart is delayed.”
reference: “I know that. And I’m the one who has to deal with it, right? I know, I’m the second yellow.”
AR1: “Take care of yourself.”
Cabana then shows Rice a second yellow card, followed by a red card.
References: “He had no choice. He kicked the ball away. When he was about to kick the ball, he kicked the ball away.”
Rice then asserts her innocence.
References: “Yes, I did, it’s clear. Yes, I did. I had no choice.
Kavanagh calls up Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.
References: “Martin (Odegaard, the Arsenal captain he calls him), Martin. I had no choice. He put me in a… terrible position.”
Note about rice: “You kicked the ball.”
rice: “No, it wasn’t.”
References: “He did. He (Rice, while talking to Odegaard) kicked the ball. Deck, you’ve got to go, Deck, you’ve got to go. I don’t like it, I don’t like it. But he kicked the ball. He kicked the ball. Deck, you’ve got to go, I’m scared.”
