Howard Webb acknowledges error in decision leading to Declan Rice's red card in Arsenal vs Brighton

Howard Webb acknowledges that Joao Pedro should have been shown a yellow card before Declan Rice's red card in Arsenal's match against Brighton last month.

Arsenal were left angered after Rice was given a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in their 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on August 31.

But shortly before Rice’s dismissal, Brighton forward Joao Pedro escaped punishment after he delayed Arsenal’s ability to restart play by kicking the ball away.

Webb, who is head of PGMOL, admits referee Chris Kavanagh should have also given Joao Pedro a yellow card but has defended the referee’s decision to send off Rice.

Asked about Joao Pedro kicking the ball away, Webb replied: ‘He wasn’t [booked], he should have been.

‘It’s a different type of scenario, it sits in the same kind of booking around delaying the restart. Of course, he should have been cautioned here.

‘The officials on the field gave him too much benefit of the doubt, feeling that the actions weren’t really impactful because they felt that the Arsenal players weren’t ready to take that throw-in, they were a little bit distance away from the ball, and Veltman [with Rice] was right there.

‘I think when we look at this it’s quite clear that the actions of Pedro do have an impact, they do delay Arsenal’s ability to restart and, yes, that should have been a yellow card.

‘We’ve certainly messaged that back to the officials. We want to be consistent with our application of these types of disciplinary sanctions, we’ve committed to dealing with players who delay the restart.

‘Not every touch of the ball after the whistle is going to be a yellow card. You’ve got to look at what the intentions of the player were, what the impact of the player’s actions were. It might be that there’s absolutely no impact at all and therefore we’re not going to show a yellow card. But situations where we see that impact – and there was one with Pedro – we should be seeing the yellow card and that’s the feedback we’ve given to the officials.’

Asked if Rice’s yellow card could have been avoided, Webb said: ‘No, I don’t think so.

‘As you hear from Chris Kavanagh, he’s clearly seen Declan Rice commit a foul then kick the ball away for an opponent who was in the process of taking a free kick.

‘We’ve messaged very clearly and strongly to the players in pre-season around the importance of not getting involved with the ball once the whistle has gone, not delaying the restart in that way and we said we’d be consistent in the way we’d handle this in the same way we were last season, the numbers of yellow cards for delaying the restart almost doubled last season.

‘People want to see the game with tempo and flow. I think once he’s seen Declan Rice deliberately, clearly kick that ball away from the position of that free kick I don’t think he’s got any chance but to send him off.’

PGMOL’s Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb analyses Declan Rice’s second yellow card against Brighton 🗣🟡 pic.twitter.com/PkeTaw7qUd

Asked about the ball still moving while Veltman attempted to take the free kick, Webb replied: ‘It may have been but Declan Rice still felt the need to kick that ball away. It still has that impact.

‘We have to look at what the player does in the situation, he acts in a way that’s very clear, he makes the decision to do that, to take the ball away from the opponent. It’s the referee’s job to deal with everything else.

‘In this situation, the actions of Rice were designed to delay the restart, I don’t think he can have any complaints when his actions then result in a yellow card.’

Asked if Veltman could have been sent off for violent conduct for kicking Rice, Webb replied: ‘Well, the ball’s there, he’s taking a free kick so it’s difficult to say anything other than that, really.

‘Obviously, he’s looking up the field, he goes to kick the ball that’s then moved away from him by Rice’s actions, so I don’t think there’s anything that can be done about that particular action in that circumstance when the ball is there to be kicked by a player who has been given a free kick.’

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