In a surprising turn of events, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara has come to the defence of Arsenal’s Declan Rice following the controversial red card yesterday.
O’Hara, known for his Spurs allegiance, offered an unexpected perspective on the situation. He argued that Rice’s actions did not warrant such severe punishment, suggesting that the referee’s decision was overly harsh.
“For me personally, I think it’s harsh. Joao Pedro kicks one away and doesn’t get booked for it,” O’Hara told talkSPORT. “Declan Rice then gets a yellow for that. If he goes and kicks it into the advertising boardings or picks it up and runs away and then throws it away. Then fine. But he taps it a yard. Come on. Where’s the common sense?”
O’Hara’s stance highlights the frustration with inconsistency, where even fierce rivals can find common ground on matters of fair play. He further emphasised the need for referees to use discretion, stating, “Where’s the common sense rule of a referee? Where you go ‘I can’t send him off for that’.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
When former Spurs players come out against a referee’s decision involving Arsenal then you just know how poor the red card was yesterday for Rice.
Rice will now miss the North London derby and we cannot even appeal against the decision which makes the frustration and anger twice as bad.
That said, we should still have enough to defeat Spurs in their backyard once again.
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Goodness me!!
When an ex spud questions this decision, albeit from a different perspective, one must surely sit up and take notice regarding their own opinions?
Thanks for not being personal, football is a game that is watched and enjoyed by many people allover the world ,so referees should know they are being watched too and hope stan action will be taken against such behavior’s
Rice didn’t deserve a second yellow.inwardly the referee is thinking about the mistake he made
A terrible mistake that decided the scores. Referees should be consistent and not emotional