PGMOL could have heaved a sigh of relief that a crucial judgement didn’t influence the outcome of Arsenal’s match against Man City on Sunday after refereeing decisions made last week’s Tottenham v. Liverpool game made headlines.
For if Gabriel Martinelli hadn’t scored late on thanks to a clever Nathan Ake deflection, Mateo Kovacic would have dominated the conversation following Arsenal’s historic victory over Manchester City.
The game on Sunday had little action, with both managers aiming to earn a point while being hindered by important absences from their teams. The hosts were given confidence by the introduction of Martinelli at halftime, but Ederson wasn’t put to the test before being caught off guard for the game’s winning goal. After City nearly opened the scoring from a set piece early on, they seldom had a chance to score David Raya’s goal.
However, given that Kovacic miraculously missed receiving a red card in the first half, Gooners would have surely cried injustice with more intensity if the Gunners hadn’t come away with all three points.
Why wasn’t Mateo Kovacic sent off against Arsenal?
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Prior to halftime, there were two occasions when the Croatian midfielder almost received a red card after a few minutes of chaos.
The initial challenge Kovacic made to Martin Odegaard was careless. When Kovacic sprinted in, the Arsenal captain was in an innocent position taking William Saliba’s pass. With his studs up, the City guy grabbed Odegaard right above the ankle.
Although Michael Oliver was quick to brandish a yellow card, VAR checked for a potential red card due to the nature of the challenge. Oliver’s on-field ruling was upheld despite Kovacic’s heinous foul, which was not deemed dangerous enough. Many believed the tackle merited a “orange card”—a sanction that falls in between a booking and a dismissal. VAR most likely would not have acted if Oliver had given Kovacic a straight red.
Only six minutes later, however, did Kovacic make the more grievous mistake as he foolishly confronted an Arsenal player once more. Declan Rice was the victim of the Croatian international’s late catch in this instance, as Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville ominously exclaimed, “Oh no…” after Kovavic raced in without grabbing a piece of the ball and grabbed Rice’s ankle.
Oliver’s reaction to the foul appeared to warrant an immediate booking, but the referee denied Arsenal’s requests that Kovacic be given the boot.
“I think he’s lucky—very lucky, in fact! Rice’s right foot is caught by him. How is he acting? On commentary, Neville stated that “He ought to be off.” Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, stated that the combination of Kovacic’s challenges were more than sufficient grounds for a dismissal.
Why didn’t VAR intervene to send Mateo Kovavic off?
Oliver’s tackle on Odegaard, which resulted in a yellow card, was judged by the referee to not have been a clear and apparent error, leaving the VAR helpless when the official decided not to give the midfielder a second caution.
The technology has only been able to alert the referee to a potential red card since it was first used in the Premier League. For decisions about a potential second yellow card, the VAR cannot pause.
Although Kovacic’s challenge on Rice was sloppy and late, it wasn’t at way deserving of a straight red card.
