Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice perhaps bizarrely avoided a red card against Brighton as the England midfielder lost his cool during his side’s 3-0 defeat.
The Premier League champions fell to a shock loss at the Seagulls – their first defeat of the season and first in the league since they became champions.
Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andres were all on the scoresheet for the impressive hosts – but Rice caught the eye too.
Brighton were seeing out the remainder of their game at the AMEX, with Rice trying to play out from the back under pressure from 20-year-old Malick Yalcouye.
After the midfielder had passed the ball, his opponent gave him a shove, and the 27-year-old saw red – though not according to the referee.
Rice hunted down Yalcouye, kicking out at the attacking midfielder, who fell to the ground.
Declan Rice received backlash for kicking out at Brighton’s Malick Yalcouye on Saturday
The Arsenal midfielder lost his cool during his side’s 3-0 defeat as he hunted his opponent down late on
Brighton fans demanded a red card, with referee Darren England running in to cool things down as Yalcouye tried to confront the former West Ham captain.
Fans were left bewildered as to why Rice wasn’t given his marching orders, instead just given a yellow card by England.
One posted on X: ‘Seriously tho, HOW did Declan Rice not get sent off for this???? So far off the ball.’
Another shared: ‘No way Declan Rice didn’t receive a red card for this tackle. Imagine it was Phil Foden.’
As per talkSPORT, though, the decision was checked and cleared by VAR – because it did not meet the threshold for violent conduct.
It was considered to be petulant and a yellow card was seen to be enough.
Rice would have received a three-game ban had he seen a red card, meaning he would have missed games against Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Everton.
Former FIFA referee and refs’ chief Keith Hackett, meanwhile, feels Rice could have seen red – and likened the scenario to that that faced Phil Foden in the Manchester derby last week.
He told Football Insider: ‘Declan Rice, in a retaliatory action off the ball, kicks his opponent. He’s fortunate the referee took a lenient view and saw it as reckless rather than violent conduct.
‘Is the bar too high at Pro Ref? Last week we saw a situation where Bruno Fernandes kicked Phil Foden, who retaliated and received a red card. The Manchester United captain received nothing.
‘In both these situations, you could determine that violent conduct could have taken place and red cards should have been issued.
‘I suggest at Pro Ref they look at the incidents and determine where the bar stands in relation to kicking an opponent. ‘
