‘Easiest red card of the weekend’ – PGMOL expert baffled by what he saw in Arsenal vs Brighton
Fabian Hurzeler’s side should have gone down to 10 men during a moment of madness against Arsenal on Saturday.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that referee John Brooks had the “easiest red card of the weekend” on 27 December.
Martin Odegaard scored his first club goal since last season, not counting friendlies, before a Georginio Rutter own goal meant Diego Gomez‘s second-half effort was nothing but a consolation.
David Raya stunned Alan Shearer, with the goalkeeper thwarting the Seagulls at the Emirates Stadium, but it was a very different tale at the other end of the pitch for Bart Verbruggen.
Bart Verbruggen crashes into Viktor Gyokeres at the Emirates Stadium
On the stroke of half-time, Verbruggen came charging out of his area, scything down Viktor Gyokeres, who was about escape the shot-stopper, and likely have an effort at goal.
Unsurprisingly, the home supporters were crying out for a red card, but Brooks kept to his decision of a simple caution, sparing the Dutchman his first professional sending-off.
With the Seagulls only able to score once in the second half, it was not an incident that had a devastating impact on the result, but it remains a talking point hours after the final whistle.
Reacting to the footage, one former head of the PGMOL could not quite believe that Verbruggen was allowed to stay on the pitch, suggesting there was a “degree of malice” in the challenge.
Brighton should have gone down to 10 men vs Arsenal
Hackett, exclusively speaking to Football Insider on The Final Whistle, said: “I thought this was the easiest red card of the weekend. The law is clear. There’s excessive force, he’s run outside of his penalty area at speed, he’s forgotten the ball, and he’s got to swipe the man out of play.
“The law says that he’s endangered the safety of his opponent. It doesn’t mean that he’s got to put the player in hospital, but it’s not far away. I think there’s a degree of malice in it as well. He knows what he’s doing.
“If he doesn’t take the player out, he’s through in on goal. This is a straight red card for the challenge that the goalkeeper made. It was serious foul play.”