SaqReferee Chris Kavanagh had “no choice” but to send off Declan Rice against Brighton, an independent panel has ruled.
The Arsenal midfielder received a second yellow card in the match before the international break for pulling the ball away from Joel Veltman, who then kicked through Rice as he headed for a quick free-kick.
The Gunners played most of the second half with ten men and dropped two points in the 1-1 draw, with Mikel Arteta declaring himself “surprised” by the decision.
It is the first red card of Rice’s career and means he is suspended for Arsenal’s north London derby against Tottenham this weekend.
Although the decision was seen as controversial, the Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel unanimously upheld Kavanagh’s decision, deeming Rice’s touch of the ball to be “clear, deliberate and impactful”.
He wrote: “Rice knows what he’s doing – it’s a sweet gesture, but once the referee sees it he has no choice.”
The KMI panel consists of three former players or managers, a representative from the Premier League and a member of the referees’ body.
Of the 23 on-field incidents reviewed during the third Premier League weekend of the season, only one was deemed improper.
It was the reward for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s early goal in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, which was later ruled out for offside by VAR.
There was some disagreement over the decision not to send off Crystal Palace’s Will Hughes against Chelsea.
The midfielder pushed back Cole Palmer while he was already on a yellow card, but only two of the panel believed Hughes was guilty of “stopping a promising attack”.
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