Mikel Arteta said he was “amazed” by Declan Rice‘s dismissal in Arsenal‘s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday and called for greater consistency in officiating.
Rice was sent off in the 50th minute after referee Chris Kavanagh issued a second yellow card for what the Premier League later clarified was “delaying the restart” after nudging the ball out of Joël Veltman‘s path as he looked to take a free kick, leading to a clash between the pair.
Veltman kicked Rice instead of the ball and Arteta claimed that should have been punished while also citing Joao Pedro escaping a booking for kicking the ball away in the first half.
“I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be,” Arteta said. “In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens.
“Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan [on the back of his leg], he…
