Howard Webb admits Mateo Kovacic was ‘extremely fortunate’ to escape red card against Arsenal

PGMOL chief Howard Webb has admitted Mateo Kovacic was ‘extremely fortunate’ to escape a red card during Arsenal’s win over Manchester City.

Arsenal beat City 1-0 at the Emirates last Sunday, thanks to a late Gabriel Martinelli goal, in a game that could be pivotal in the Premier League title race.

But the victory could have been a lot more comfortable had the Citizens been reduced to 10-men in the first-half, with Kovacic putting in two robust challenges on Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.

Referee Michael Oliver showed a yellow for the foul on Odegaard, though some felt it should have been a red, but just six minutes later he avoided a booking for the Rice foul, which many felt should have resulted in a second yellow and a sending off.

PGMOL explain decision making

Following the VAR controversy in the Tottenham vs Liverpool game, the PGMOL have promised to explain more of their decision making, with Webb speaking to Sky Sports to discuss why the City midfielder stayed on the pitch.

He said: ‘We want to be as consistent as we can be throughout every game among our group, dealing with the same situations in the same way every week. But of course all situations vary lightly. We have to accept and understand this.

‘This [the Odegaard foul] is clearly a poor tackle and I’m pretty confident if a red card had been given by Michael Oliver it would have been a very straightforward “check complete”.

‘But he doesn’t. He issues a yellow card. Kovacic comes into the tackle with the right leg but there’s some weight on the left leg as he lunges in. The right heel hits the ground and then the contact is a little more to the side, kind of like an upright foot as opposed to a side on foot.

‘A few small differences that lead to the VAR to feel that the on-field decision of yellow card wasn’t clearly and obviously incorrect and therefore “check completing it”, feeling that if they intervened it would be a re-refereeing of that decision.’

Kovacic ‘extremely fortunate’

But while he agreed with Oliver’s call on the first foul, the same could not be said for Rice incident, adding: ‘VAR can’t get involved with second yellows.

‘I think he was extremely fortunate player to stay on the field. One of our best referees, one of the best referees in the world, Michael Oliver will no doubt review that.

‘He doesn’t want to have a negative impact on the game by overreacting to something and sometimes players will be on a yellow card and they’ll be pressure to show a second one. Pressure will come from the players from the field.

‘But it’s also true if you under react it can have a negative impact on the game, so I think when he reflects on it he’ll realise the second one should have been a yellow card as well. It should have been Kovacic sent off for two yellow cards.’

Conclusion

It’s clear from Webb’s comments that Kovacic was lucky to stay on the pitch against Arsenal, and had he been sent off, it could have changed the course of the match. The PGMOL have promised to explain more of their decision making in future, and this is an example of why they need to be more consistent in their rulings.

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