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Evan Lloyd

Sun 5 April 2026 12:09, UK

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Gabriel Martinelli should have seen red when he pushed referee Sam Barrott in Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Southampton on Saturday, Keith Hackett has told Football Insider.

The Gunners were dumped out of the FA Cup at St Mary’s Stadium, with goals from Ross Stewart and Shea Charles sending the Championship side to the semi-finals.

Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to score an equaliser for Arsenal, but they ultimately came up short.

The defeat marks the first time this season that Mikel Arteta’s team have lost consecutive games, after they were beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup last month.

Arsenal’s form will be a concern for the Spaniard, with his team still battling for the Premier League and the Champions League.

Keith Hackett: Gabriel Martinelli should have seen ‘instant red card’

Ex-PGMOL chief Hackett said Martinelli should have been sent off against Liverpool in January after he attempted to push an injured Conor Bradley off the pitch.

And the winger has attracted further criticism after appearing to push the referee out of the way in an attempt to play a quick free-kick on Saturday.

Barrott responded by putting his whistle to his lips and issuing a yellow card, but Hackett exclusively told Football Insider that the punishment should have been far more severe.

“Whilst I am an admirer of Referee Sam Barrott, I cannot forgive him for allowing Arsenal’s Martinelli to clearly push him in a confrontational manner and not responding with an instant red card,” he said.

“The fact that Barrott failed in his duty to uphold the authority of the referee sends out the wrong message to all players at all levels that they can do this without sanction.

“Players cannot lay their hands on the referee, and Martinelli’s unacceptable action should have seen a ban. Will the authorities take retrospective action? In the interests of our game they should.

“However, I guess they will decide not to re-referee the incident. Sam Barrott, I hope that you learn from this error.”

Aleksandar Mitrovic was sent off for pushing referee

There is little precedent of players putting their hands on referees, although Aleksandar Mitrovic’s incident with Chris Kavanagh was a memorable one.

The Serbian completely lost his head after Willian had been dismissed in Fulham’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United in 2023, confronting the referee and pushing him.

Kavanagh immediately produced another red card for the striker, who continued to walk towards him aggressively.

Mitrovic was subsequently handed an eight-game ban for violent conduct towards a match official and using language that was improper, abusive, insulting and threatening.

While Martinelli’s push was similar, the context was very different and will likely be treated as such.