Premier League admit Arsenal red card mistake after referee made wrong decision | Football | Sport
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel has determined that Mikel Merino should have been dismissed during Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on December 30. With the Gunners leading 2-0, Merino brought on Morgan Rogers in the 58th minute, but official Darren England opted not to show the Spanish midfielder a second yellow card.
In a unanimous verdict, the panel determined that Merino had “clearly stopped a promising attack by pulling Rogers’ arm, and that a second warning should have been granted.” With VAR unable to intervene in matters of the second yellow card, Merino remained on the pitch.
Villa protested at the time saying it should have been Merino’s second caution in the competition, having already been booked for a challenge on Amadou Onana just before the break.
The panel’s verdicts on key match incidents from the first half of the campaign reveal Mikel Arteta’s side benefited from just one VAR error.
Former Premier League manager Mark Halsey, when asked about the incident, posted on X: “This was a deliberate offense by Merino on Rogers which should have resulted in a second (yellow card emoji) for denying a promising attack.”
When asked if a player’s existing warning influences the referee’s thinking, Halsey replied: “Not every challenge is a (yellow card emoji).
“Referees will judge challenges on their merits, in my opinion there are far too many (yellow card emoji) shown unnecessarily, referees have lost the art of dealing with these players.
“Merino’s holding offense was nailed in the 2nd (yellow card emoji).”
Had Merino been given his marching orders, Villa might have been able to get back into the contest, but Arteta spotted the risk and pulled the Spaniard off just over 10 minutes later.
Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus all got on the scoresheet, while Ollie Watkins provided a stoppage-time consolation for the away side.
Arsenal are top of the Premier League table, 14 points ahead of reigning champions Liverpool, while Manchester City and Villa trail the Gunners by six points in second and third place respectively.
The north Londoners return to Carabao Cup action on Wednesday night, taking on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, before traveling to Nottingham Forest for a Premier League match on Saturday.