Rules expert Dale Johnson has suggested that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta did not receive a red card after he interfered with play, by handling the ball, in the 64th minute, thanks to the referee’s personal discretion. The Spaniard escaped with just a caution from Istvan Kovacs.
In a poor evening at the office, the Premier League side fell at the hands of Inter Milan in a 1-0 defeat at the San Siro after midfielder Hakan Calhangolu opened and closed the scoring from the spot on the cusp of the half-time interval.
Marking the Gunners’ second successive defeat after losing 1-0 to Newcastle United on Saturday, they were unable to break down a well-drilled Nerazzurri despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession and attempting a litany of crosses into the home outfit’s box.
With the score poised at 1-0 to the hosts in the 63rd minute, Bukayo Saka’s attempted pass ricocheted off Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s leg and bundled towards Arteta’s technical area. Thanks to the ball’s spinning nature, it initially appeared to be out of play and, as such, Arteta bent down and stopped it with his hand.
What made matters even worse is that former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian was on course to keep the ball in play and the Spanish tactician’s actions sparked a frenzy from the San Siro home bench – who were understandably incensed by his decision. You can watch the incident below:
Arteta, widely regarded as one of the best young managers in world football, was merely shown a yellow card for his interference by the man in the middle, Kovacs, but ESPN’s football rules expert Dale Johnson has suggested that it could easily have been a red card.
However, taking to X (formerly Twitter), Johnson wrote that it was thanks to the referee’s personal discretion that he managed to avoid receiving the first red card of his 247-game managerial stint of the north Londoners.
“Our old friend discretion,” he tweeted. “Sending-off offences include (but are not limited to): entering the field of play to: interfere with play, an opposing player or a match official.”
The letter of the law suggested that he was booked because he interfered with the game’s flowing state, but it wasn’t considered a sending-off offence by the man in the middle. Looking to bounce back from their European hangover, Arteta’s men travel across the capital to Stamford Bridge to face a Chelsea side who currently sit in one place above them in the Premier League standings.