After being penalized for a reckless challenge in the first half, Rice was found to have delayed the restart after colliding with Brighton’s Joel Veltman. The Seagulls were awarded a free kick, and the Arsenal player shoved the ball away as Veltman appeared to swing to collect it, implying that – despite the fact that Rice ended up on the ground after Veltman’s foot collided with him – he was dismissed.
Fans were outraged by various parts of the match, including João Pedro’s unpunished kick down the pitch after the ball ran out of play in the first half, the fact that the ball was rolling when Rice touched it, and the inability to take a free kick.
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Mikel Arteta stated after the game that he was “amazed at how inconsistent decisions can be.” In the first half, there are two situations and nothing happens. According To National World.
“Then, in a non-critical area, the ball strikes Declan [on the back of his leg], he turns around, doesn’t see the player approaching, and touches the ball,” Arteta explained. “By law, he can make that call; however, by law, he must make the next call, which is a red card, so we play 10vs10. This is what amazed me. At this level, it’s incredible.”
The verdict means Rice will serve a one-game suspension, ruling him out of the north London derby, and Arsenal added salt to the wounds this morning by releasing additional footage of the incident.
A different angle of the event is included in the club’s ‘Access All Areas’ video montage of the match, which some say makes Veltman’s kick appear to be aimed at Rice rather than the ball intentionally.
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