Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler has dismantled Mikel Arteta’s comments over Declan Rice’s controversial red card.
On Saturday afternoon, Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Brighton, with Kai Havertz’s opening goal cancelled out by Joao Pedro’s equalizer.
At the start of the second half, the Gunners were reduced to 10 men after referee Chris Kavanagh controversially showed a second yellow card to Rice.
Fans were furious after replays showed that the Englishman was kicked by Brighton star Joel Veltman, who missed the ball.
However, it was then realized that Rice actually nudged the ball away from the Brighton defender in a bid to delay the restart.
Speaking after the match, Gunners boss Arteta said: “We came back after halftime really strong, and the referee made a decision that changed the course of the game. We probably still should have won the game but I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.
“In the first half there were two incidents where nothing happened, then in another critical area, the ball hits Declan's heel, he turns around, doesn't see the player and touches the ball. By law, he can make that call but at this level, it's honestly amazing.”
Arteta referenced an incident involving Brighton star Pedro that occurred in the first half when the Brazilian escaped a booking after lashing the ball away after it went out of play.
However, Brighton boss Hurzeler hit back with, “For me, it's a clear red card. He shoots the ball away; it's wasting time so there are now two opinions.
“You can't compare these two situations. The first with Joao is a clear, like a free-kick, static situation, and the second one was a dynamic situation. Joao tried to keep the ball in the game; please don't compare because in football, two situations are never the same.”
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