William Saliba’s first-half sending-off for Arsenal against Bournemouth was one of the day’s major talking points in the Premier League.
The French defender was dismissed after a VAR review for hauling down Brazilian forward Evanilson just before half-time — Arsenal’s third red card of the season.
UK readers can view the incident here:
William Saliba has been sent off following a VAR review 🟥 pic.twitter.com/z20aHFFA7i
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 19, 2024
So what happened and was it the right call?
What happened?
After Leandro Trossard had given away possession for Arsenal, a lofted pass was played over Saliba for Evanilson to chase — leaving just goalkeeper David Raya for the Brazilian to beat if he reached the ball.
With Evanilson ahead of him, Saliba pulled back the Bournemouth striker. Arsenal right-back Ben White (circled in the picture below) was also chasing back.
Referee Robert Jones initially gave Saliba a yellow card for the offence, which occurred near the halfway line, but did not allow play to resume, with the VAR Jarred Gillett checking the incident for a red card offence.
Gillett recommended that Jones review the incident on the pitchside monitor and the referee reversed his decision and gave Saliba a red card.
Rob Jones checks his initial decision (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
What do the laws say?
The Premier League match centre on Twitter explained why the initial decision was overturned and Saliba given a red card.
#BOUARS – 27’ VAR OVERTURN
The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson. 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.
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) October 19, 2024
The Premier League/PGMOL handbook for 2024-25 lays out the four main points for referees to consider when handing out a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity. These are:
- Distance between the offence and the goal
- The general direction of the play
- Likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
- Location and number of defenders
Regarding the first point in this example, there is a significant distance between the offence and the goal, but Evanilson was through, effectively creating a one-versus-one opportunity with the goalkeeper.
The direction is toward the goal, strengthening Bournemouth’s claims, and White is far enough away from the incident to indicate he may not have been able to cover Saliba.
The ball bounces around 10 yards ahead of Evanilson and he appears favoured to reach it before any of the Arsenal players. With this in mind, it appears a justifiable decision according to IFAB’s considerations.
What has been the reaction?
Both former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp, speaking on UK broadcaster Sky Sports, believed the right decision had been made.
“With the pace of professional footballers these days, whenever they’re clear, it’s a clear goalscoring opportunity,” Walcott said. “I think the decision is probably the right one.”
Redknapp added: “He (Evanilson) has a long way to go, but as soon as it happened I thought Saliba was in trouble. He gets on the wrong side — he’s trying to squeeze the play, but as Bournemouth play the ball, it’s panic.”
Do Arsenal have a discipline problem?
Arsenal have certainly racked up red cards this season — three in eight Premier League games in total — although some have been more debatable than others.
Their first red card of the season was awarded to Declan Rice. With Arsenal up 1-0 against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium, Rice was awarded a second yellow for dissent after kicking the ball away.
Trossard was awarded another for the same offence just a couple of weeks later in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City, one which particularly angered Mikel Arteta.
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
