The Key Match Incidents board - which reviews major refereeing decisions each week - said Rice’s nudge of the ball away from Joel Veltman, thereby delaying the restart of play, a free-kick, was "clear, deliberate and impactful". Kavanagh’s decision was unanimously backed by the panel, made up of three former players or coaches, and representatives of PGMOL and the Premier League.
A verdict statement said: "Rice knows what he's doing - it's a gentle touch, but once the referee sees it he has no choice." Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said post-match he was “amazed” by the decision, making reference to other match-delaying incidents from Brighton players.
"By law, he [the referee] can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is a red card so we play 10 vs 10," he said. "This is what amazed me."
Match Of The Day host Lineker joined Arteta in his bafflement reagrding the red card, the first of Rice's career. Reacting to the panel’s verdict, he tweeted: "Utter nonsense."
Arteta faces a midfield nightmare ahead of this weekend’s clash with Tottenham. Summer signing Mikel Merino, yet to make his debut, will join Rice in the stands due to a shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out for a number of weeks.
And this week, Martin Odegaard was seen in crutches following Norway’s 2-1 Nations League win over Austria on Monday, having been forced off with an ankle knock during the game. It leaves Jorginho and Thomas Partey as the only available senior central midfielders, with Kai Havertz potentially dropping back into attacking midfield should Odegaard indeed be ruled out.
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