Furious Arsenal fans launch petition to Premier League after Declan Rice's controversial red card

Arsenal supporters have launched a petition after Declan Rice's red card during their side's 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday.

Rice was shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart after a coming together with Brighton defender Joel Veltman.

The Premier League Match Centre Twitter account - which explains decisions made by the referee and VAR - simply wrote: "The referee issued a second yellow card to Declan Rice for delaying the restart."

The controversy over the decision surrounded Veltman kicking Rice to the ground as he went to connect with the ball, with Rice kicking the ball away listed among the Premier League laws as a punishable offence.

However, some fans spotted the ball was moving when Veltman went to strike it, meaning it was not a legal free kick.

Declan Rice can't believe it as he's sent off for kicking the ball away 😳

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Speaking after the match, Rice admitted that the decision to send him off was correct by law but believed it to be harsh.

He said: "I was shocked. I think you could see in my face I was shocked.

"I've not sprinted back in front of him and smashed the ball away. I've touched the ball with the outside of my foot."

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta agreed with Rice but added: "By law he [referee Chris Kavanagh] can make that call but, at this level, it's honestly amazing."

Now, furious Gunners fans have gone as far as launching a petition over the incident.

Under Premier League rules, a player sent off for two yellow cards cannot have their suspension rescinded - but Arsenal supporters have decided to go one step further and call for Kavanagh to be suspended.

However, the petition - which is titled 'Justice for Arsenal: Suspend Chris Kavanagh' - only has 47 signatures at the time of writing. Petitions need 100,000 signatures to be debated in Parliament.

The petition reads: "The English Premier League holds a global reputation for its high standard of refereeing; such haphazard decisions tarnish this image and endanger fair competition, affecting not only team results but also leaving millions of fans heartbroken.

"We urge the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to institute stringent action against Chris Kavanagh.

"His actions should be scrutinised, and he should be sidelined for a few games as a preliminary penalty.

"We insist PGMOL take this situation as an impetus to reinforce watchfulness and eliminate refereeing mishaps from our beloved games."