The Declan Rice red card from Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday was one of the more bizarre moments you’ll see in a Premier League game.
Rice received his first yellow card in the 42nd minute for a tough challenge on Joël Veltman. Nothing crazy there.
It was the 25-year-old’s second yellow card that baffled fans everywhere.
In the 49th minute Rice fouled Veltman again deep in Brighton’s territory. The Arsenal man lingered around a little too long and when Veltman tried to take the free kick quickly he ended up cleaning out Rice.
Referee Chris Kavanagh made the decision to show Rice a second yellow card.
Declan Rice red card vs Brighton
Did this deserve a second yellow? And a sending off? Arsenal Twitter losing its mind. But... pic.twitter.com/yzFtiUPCH5
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) August 31, 2024
Instant breakdown to hilarious moment of minuscule s**thousery that Declan Rice may want back pic.twitter.com/8yh2Tg3A0m
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) August 31, 2024
1 – In his 245th Premier League appearance, Declan Rice has been shown a red card in the competition for the first time. Bizarre. #ARSBHA pic.twitter.com/3zGy3erdxJ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 31, 2024
Red cards don’t come much stranger than that.
The official reasoning for Rice’s second yellow was “delaying the restart.”
#ARSBHA – 48’
The referee issued a second yellow card to Declan Rice for delaying the restart.— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) August 31, 2024
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was understandably upset about the situation and questioned why Brighton’s Joao Pedro wasn’t booked for delaying a restart in the first half.
Mikel Arteta on Rice’s red card: “I was AMAZED — amazed, amazed, amazed at how inconsistent decisions can be.”
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 31, 2024
So when Joao Pedro did this, ref gave no yellow
— Bhavs (@bhavss14) August 31, 2024
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the situation, it’s that Arsenal might be the most entertaining team to watch in the Premier League.
Just a week ago we were watching Ben White blast the ball into Aston Villa players and now this.
Ben White took matters into his own hands because the referee was refusing to referee the game. pic.twitter.com/hWdj9WiPfv
— Arsenal Sampai Mati (@TillDieArsenal) August 25, 2024
This is going to be a fun season.
