Arsenal drew their Premier League game against Brighton today, 1-1, at the Emirates, and the Gooners are unhappy with the performance of referee Chris Kavanagh.
The Gunners started the season with two wins from two, defeating Aston Villa away before hosting the similarly in-form Brighton at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s side was eager to win and maintain their winning run, but Brighton is a tough team.
Arsenal has always struggled to beat the Seagulls, and they knew it would be a very difficult game.
Arteta’s side did everything they could to overpower the Seagulls, but Brighton remained competitive, and the game ended 1-1.
However, one significant moment in the match may have cost Arsenal the points. Declan Rice was shown a red card four minutes into the second half when Arsenal was leading.
Brighton eventually equalised, but was Rice’s sending-off the right call? Most fans don’t think so, and Martin Keown suggests the referee’s decisions cost Arsenal the win.
He said on the BBC:
“The referee has played a major part in this match.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Rice’s red card and other questionable decisions in the game did not help our efforts to win the game.
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Arteta took too long to bring in a defensive midfield. By that time we conceded a goal
How can be the yellow card when a free kick was taken while the ball was moving
Every time something goes against us, these kinds of mental gymnastics come out. Rice kicked the ball away before the freekick was taken, so the Brighton player never kicked a moving ball. Rice broke the rules – whether the Brighton player might have kicked the ball while it is was moving is completely irrelevant.
No it isn’t, because the defender threw a moving ball and didn’t spot it down and /or wait for the referee’s whistle.
Are you saying that it’s legal for a player to throw the ball at another player now?
Rice just knocked the ball away, because he knew that the free kick wasn’t legal anyway,as he hadn’t heard the whistle.
Why do you think he did that by the way?
No one threw any balls 😅 It’s completely normal to take the freekick quickly in that situation.
Rice was trying to be clever/annoying, nicking the ball away as the player was trying to kick it to stop them playing it quickly. It backfired on him.
Did the defender hit Rice with the ball?
A simple yes or no answer will suffice 😂
Did you watch it back? I don’t think anyone could honestly characterise that as the defender hitting rice with the ball. If you watched it and your contention is that the defender committed an offence by hitting rice with the ball, you are being dishonest.
If you walk past someone and your elbow brushes against them, did you “elbow” them? Same situation here, that’s why a simple yes or no doesn’t suffice – if you watch it back, you’ll know that.
I saw it actually happen and I saw the reaction of both players.
The defender DID hit the legs of Rice and there’s nothing dishonest about saying what happened… simply because that’s what DID happen.
Trying to compare that with something that didn’t happen, is nonsense.
It was obvious that the moving ball was going to hit the legs of Rice, so why did he do it?
Here’s an example for you to ponder over.
Why do players take a free kick before the opposing player has retreated ten yards, knowing that the ball is going to hit them?
I’ve watched it back multiple times while replying to ensure I’m being accurate.
1. I said it would be dishonest to say the defender committed an offence by hitting rice with the ball – I don’t know if that’s your contention, just to be clear. There’s absolutely no reason to think the ball touching rice was through any intent of the defender – it looks very much like he was trying get on with playing the ball up the field.
2. The ball was never thrown and did not hit rice on the legs, it touched his heel.
3. Rice intentionally moved in front of the ball, he walked across the defender and nipped out away before he could play it. Had rice stayed where he was or moved to get back into position, or done anything reasonable aside from trying to stop the freekick, the Brighton player wouldn’t have hit him.
You seeing it live doesn’t give you better knowledge – it’s on tape so we can watch it back and relatively close up. This is why witness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
“Why do players take a free kick before the opposing player has retreated ten yards, knowing that the ball is going to hit them?”
In this case, because it wasn’t going to hit rice and could have enabled Brighton to start an attack, but usually to expose the fact the opposing player is trying to prevent them from taking it quickly, at a time when they should be able to
I’ve watched 5 times Ken ,have to agree with Davi ,rice stupidity fell over like he had been shot resulting in the vAR or ref going back to the original infringement,which was Rice being in the way and kicking the ball .
He didn’t throw the ball down he kicked it forward ,Rice kicked it away as he was about to punt it forward
Either way you win some and you don’t .
All this talk of Arsenal being on the wrong side of decisions need to go back to last season before they start with the “refs are against Arsenal “.
Ridiculous from some Arsenal fans TbH ,and that’s not you I’m talking about Ken but the juvenile few that we see weekly post their silly rants towards the officiating in the league .
By kicking the ball forward the Brighton player was seeking to gain an advantage which is an infringement in its own right.
Rice was clearly kicked by the Brighton player.
By kicking the ball forward the Brighton player was seeking to gain an advantage which is an infringement in its own right.
Rice was clearly kicked by the Brighton player.
You have summed it up correctly David.
Why else would the defender play the ball so that it hit Rice?
That also means that the ball would not have been in the correct position, because it had been moved forward.
If only one actually took out who the teams were and played it, as in a training session for referees, the first infringement of the rules take precedent – that’s how the game has always been played and to argue that the defender was innocent of any breach of the rules is to be ignorant of the rules.
I’ll ask this question once again, how did the ball manage to come in contact with Rice and was that reason within the rules of the game?
That’s just petty – be serious. The ball did not go far, it was not looking to gain a real advantage, and had the roles been reversed you would not be bringing it up. Mental gymnastics.
It’s not petty, as the ball would have gone further if it hadn’t hit Rice.
Then, of course, the defender would have gained yards, spotted the ball and the free kick taken after the referee blew his whistle.
You now are suggesting “ it’s normal “.
Because you have no argument.
The ball was knocked forward into Declan and it was moving before Declan tapped it.
Now you justify your with its normal.
You do not understand football at all if you can’t see that he was trying to bang it into Declan’s back or legs so Declan may get booked.
Why comment if are just gonna make things up when it it is there on video
Of course it’s not irrelevant. Veldman had already kicked the ball into Declan’s leg and the ball was still moving when Declan tapped the ball. For a start it’s taken from the wrong place, then he was going to take a free kick while the ball was still moving and most importantly, he was trying to bang that ball into Declan’s back . He was trying to give Declan a bit and possibly get him booked. For you to say what you did is madness. Declan committed a technical error and paid but what about the ball being moved beforehand and what about a professional player missing the ball and kicking Declan in the leg. How can you possibly defend that.
Please c an someone tell me the colour of card shown to Pedro when he boothed the ball away. .
Show some consistency in EPL officiating. We will be watching for more of cards for rolling the ball away.