CHEATED ARSENAL?… – SkySports report what PGMOL chief Howard Webb told the Referee before he overturned Saliba’s yellow card to Red card
Jamie Carragher took to social media to question whether Howard Webb stepped in after William Saliba was sent off in Arsenal’s match with Bournemouth.
The French defender was initially shown a yellow card by referee Rob Jones after hauling down Evanilson in the first half of Saturday evening’s Premier League fixture at The Vitality Stadium. The card was upgraded to red, though, when VAR intervened shortly after.
Saliba’s dismissal means he will miss next weekend’s crunch showdown with Liverpool – and former Reds defender Carragher wondered whether Webb was involved in the U-turn after the PGMOL chief was shown speaking on his phone in the crowd.
In a now deleted X post, Carragher said: “Was Howard Webb involved in the decision making of the red card for Saliba??”
Arsenal fans were quick to vent their frustrations at Webb and the PGMOL, chanting: “F*** Howard Webb” in the aftermath of Saliba’s red card. The Gunners went in at the break with the match still goalless.
Saliba’s dismissal is another issue for Mikel Arteta to contend with. The Spaniard is already without captain Martin Odegaard due to injury, though he hinted on Friday that the Norwegian playmaker could be fit enough to face Liverpool next week.
The Gunners were also without Bukayo Saka against the Cherries after the winger picked up an injury on international duty.
The Premier League released a statement explaining why Saliba’s yellow card had been upgraded to a red while the match was ongoing, outlining that the Arsenal star had denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
“The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson,” the statement read. “The VAR deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
Arsenal have been involved in a number of contentious decisions already this season owing to red cards shown to Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard. Both were shown second yellow cards for delaying restarts, the latter in last month’s title showdown with Manchester City.
