Exclusive: PGMOL insider applauds Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta ‘telling the truth’ on refs
Keith Hackett has given his verdict on whether Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could face punishment from the FA for comments criticising refereeing this season.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Gunners boss deserves credit for an honest assessment on the state of officiating this season.
Arteta has seen his side pick up a joint-high five red cards in the Premier League during the 2024/25 campaign.
Early in the season, the likes of Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were shown second yellow cards for delaying the restart by kicking the ball away.
There was also controversy about the sending off for Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly away at Wolves earlier in this calendar year.
Now, that has led to some damning comments about officiating in the top-flight this season from the Gunners boss.
Mikel Arteta hits out at referees
The fact his Arsenal side have picked up that many red cards will not have helped them as they fell short against Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
As a result, Arteta has now taken aim at the officials in the division, saying: “The rules at the beginning of the season when we were punished and after 15 games were very different.
“Hopefully next season we’ll have some new rules for some games then change them again. That would be great if possible. Especially for all the teams the same rules at least.” [Daily Mail]
| Arsenal 2024/25 Premier League red cards | Date | Result |
| Declan Rice vs Brighton | 31/08/24 | Drew 1-1 |
| Leandro Trossard vs Man City | 22/09/24 | Drew 2-2 |
| William Saliba vs Bournemouth | 19/10/24 | Lost 2-0 |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly vs Wolves | 25/01/25 | Won 1-0 |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly vs West Ham | 22/02/25 | Lost 1-0 |
Hackett has agreed with the Gunners boss about that lack of consistency, pointing out that the longer stoppage time periods introduced to ensure games run closer to 90 minutes have disappeared.
He also feels incidents such as the decision to send off Bournemouth striker Evanilson against Man United last Sunday (27 April), highlights those officiating problems.
Those inconsistencies were emphasised when Rayan Ait Nouri was not sent off for Wolves against Man City for a dangerous studs up challenge by the same referee, Peter Bankes, on Friday (2 May).
Arsenal manager backed by Keith Hackett
After being asked by Football Insider what he makes of those comments by the Arsenal boss, and if he believes the could lead to punishment for Arteta, Hackett said:
“The FA, the Premier League and the PGMOL should take note and not sanction him for his comments. We talk about the laws of football, not the rules.
“We have all witnessed an inconsistent approach to law application by referees. Can you remember the 12 and 14 minutes of added time? Where has that gone?
“Last week the Bournemouth player was dismissed for an alleged Serious Foul play challenge. It was not serious foul play and the red card [was] overturned.
“Tonight [Friday 2 May] we saw the same referee faced with a clear Serious Foul Play challenge simply ignoring it and taking no action in Man City v Wolves.
“Acts of simulation, holding, pulling, the inconsistency is there for all to see. It has been a poor year for officiating and I applaud the Arsenal manager for telling the truth!!!”