Featured Image Credit: Premier League
Topics: Arsenal, Declan Rice, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, VAR, Football
Ben McCrum
Topics: Arsenal, Declan Rice, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, VAR, Football
A new angle of Declan Rice's controversial red card during the match against Brighton has emerged.
Rice was sent off after being shown a second yellow card during Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal fans and Mikel Arteta have since spoken out about the decision by referee Chris Kavanagh, especially as it means the midfielder is now set to miss the North London Derby match against Tottenham Hotspur.
And now, a new angle has shown how Brighton players reacted ahead of the call, and it has added more controversy to the incident.
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The clip shows that shortly after Rice kicked the ball away, Brighton striker Danny Welbeck approaches Kavanagh and clearly says to him "it's a second yellow!"
Technically, if following the law of the game, Welbeck himself should then have been shown a yellow card, as Premier League rules state that players may not tell the referee to issue a disciplinary card to another player.
However, after several incidents of this happening last season was met with frustrations from fans, the rule is rarely enforced, explaining why in this scenario Welbeck was not shown a card.
Rice's first yellow card in the match was shown after he arrived late for a challenge on Joel Veltman, and after the match he spoke out about the incident and his thoughts on the red card.
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 (Veltman) and smashed the ball away. I’ve touched the ball with the outside of my foot.
“Look, this is the law of the game. If you touch the ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card after my challenge in the first half, which I fully accept was a 50-50 that I didn’t win.
Rice added: “It was tough, it was harsh, but it’s one of those things. I have to move on from it.
"That’s my first sending-off in my career, so I just wanted to apologise to my team-mates, which I’ve done, and to the fans."