Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton for picking up a second yellow card for kicking the ball away; as revealed in Match Officials Mic'd Up, referee Chris Kavanagh told Rice he "doesn't like" the rule of booking players for delaying the restart
Wednesday 18 September 2024 13:33, UK
Referee Chris Kavanagh told Declan Rice he "doesn't like the rule" for booking players who delay restarts - as the official sent the Arsenal midfielder off for a second yellow in the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Brighton last month.
While already on a booking, Rice was adjudged to have kicked the ball away from Joel Veltman's path after fouling the Brighton defender in the second half of the August 31 encounter.
The midfielder went down as Veltman kicked him, only to be given his marching orders when he got back to his feet.
The sending off was costly for Arsenal, who were leading 1-0 at the time but then conceded to Joao Pedro's equaliser as the game ended 1-1.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left "amazed" by the decision after the game, hitting out at Kavanagh's "inconsistency" in not booking Brighton forward Pedro for a similar incident earlier in the game.
As part of the Match Officials Mic'd Up programme shown on Tuesday night, the officials' recording of the incident was published, with Kavanagh telling Rice he had to send him off, as he was put in an "awful position".
"Dec, you need to go," said the official at the time.
"I don't like it [the rule], I don't like it. But [Rice has] knocked the ball. He's kicked the ball. Dec, you need to go I'm afraid."
Chief refereeing officer of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited Howard Webb felt Kavanagh had no other option but to send Rice off, revealing the PGMOL had warned players before the season started that players would be booked for such offences.
Explaining referee Kavanagh's decision, Webb said: "He's clearly seen Declan Rice commit a foul, then kick the ball away from an opponent in the process of taking a free-kick.
"We've messaged - clearly and strongly - to the players in pre-season about the importance of not getting involved with the ball once the whistle has gone, not delaying the restart in that way.
"We've said we would be consistent in the way we have handled this, in the same way we did last season. The number of yellow cards for delaying the restart nearly doubled last season. Because people want to see the game with tempo and flow.
"Once he has seen Declan Rice deliberately and clearly kick the ball away from the position of that free-kick then I don't think he has any choice but to send him off."
Arsenal fans were left in uproar on social media when replays showed the ball was rolling before Veltman attempted to kick the ball, meaning Rice's actions were irrelevant
According to Law 13.2 in the Laws of the Game: "The ball must be stationary and the kicker must not touch the ball again until it has touched another player."
However, Webb believes Rice's desire to kick the ball away overruled the rolling ball argument. "It may have been rolling, but Declan Rice still felt the need to kick that ball away," he said.
"It still has that impact and we have to look at what the player does in that situation. He acts in a way that is very clear, he makes a decision to take the ball away from the opponent.
"It's the referee's job to deal with everything else, but in this situation, the actions of Rice were designed to delay the restart so therefore I don't think he can have any complaints when his actions resulted in a yellow card.
"In that situation, the referee focuses on Rice's actions and determines he has to deal with him because those actions are intentionally designed to kick the ball away when he had no business going near the ball in the first place.
"Having given away a free-kick, Rice knows he has got to get away and let that free-kick be taken and the referee deals with everything else."
Webb did, meanwhile, feel Brighton forward Pedro should have been booked for kicking the ball away in the first half - adding the refereeing team led by Kavanagh showed "too much leniency" to the Brazilian.
"He should have been [booked]," said Webb. "It's a different type of scenario but it sits in the same bracket around delaying the restart. Of course he should have been cautioned here.
"The officials on the field gave him too much benefit of the doubt, feeling that the actions weren't really impactful because they felt the Arsenal defenders were too far away to take a throw-in, they were too distanced away from the ball, unlike Veltman who was right there.
"But it's quite clear the actions of Pedro do have an impact and do delay Arsenal's ability to restart and yes, that should have been a yellow card and we have communicated that to the officials.
"We want to be consistent with our application of these types of disciplinary sanctions. We've committed to dealing with players who delay the restart.
"Not every touch of the ball after the whistle has to result in a yellow card. You have to look at what the impact of the players and the intentions of the players were. It might be that there's absolutely no impact at all and therefore we're not going to show a yellow card.
"But in the instances where we see that impact, and there was one with Pedro, we should be seeing a yellow card. That's the feedback we have given to the officials."
After the game, Arsenal manager Arteta felt Rice should have been sent off "by law" - but only if Veltman was also shown a red card for his involvement in the incident.
Asked about whether the Brighton defender should have also been sent off for violent conduct, Webb said: "The ball is there, he's taking a free-kick so it's difficult to say anything other than that, really.
"He [Veltman] is looking up the field, he goes to kick the ball which is then moved away from him by Rice's actions.
" So I don't think there is anything that can be done by that action [of kicking Rice] in those circumstance - when the ball is there to be kicked by a player who has been given a free-kick."
Joel Veltman kicks Declan Rice, who gets in the way of the Brighton defender taking the free-kick.
AR1: "Remember it's Rice, he's already on one."
KAV: "Declan Rice has kicked the ball away."
AR1: "Just knocked it away, he's on a second."
REF: "Going to have no choice, mate."
AR1: "It's a second yellow mate."
REF: "I know, I've got no choice."
AR1: "Yeah, it's delaying the restart."
REF: "I know it is. And I'm going to have to deal with it, aren't I? I know, second yellow for me."
AR1: "Look after yourself."
Kavanagh then shows Rice the second yellow card and then a red.
REF: "I had no choice, he knocks the ball away. As he's about to kick it, he knocks the ball."
Rice then protests his innocence.
REF: "Yes you did, it's clear. Yes you did. I have no choice.
Kavanagh then calls over Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard
REF: "Martin [Odegaard, the Arsenal captain who he calls over] , Martin. I have no choice. He's put me... in an awful position."
REF TO RICE: "You did kick the ball."
RICE: "No I didn't."
REF: "You did. He [Rice, while speaking to Odegaard] has knocked the ball away. Dec, you need to go Dec, you need to go. I don't like it, I don't like it. But he's knocked the ball. He's kicked the ball. Dec, you need to go I'm afraid."
