Initially, French star Saliba was handed a yellow card from ref Rob Jones for dragging down Evanilson in the first half of the Saturday evening's Premier League battle at The Vitality Stadium. However, after VAR intervened the card was upgraded to red.
This red card means Saliba is benched for the upcoming crunch match against Liverpool, leaving fans and former Liverpool legend Carragher wondering if Webb, caught on his phone in the stands, played a part in the VAR decision U-turn.
Carragher's curious tweet - which has since been deleted - pondered: "Was Howard Webb involved in the decision making of the red card for Saliba?"
Gunners supporters made their feelings crystal clear about Webb and the PGMOL, belting out: "F*** Howard Webb" following Saliba's controversial red. With the Gunners and the Cherries both failing to score by halftime, tensions were high, reports the Mirror.
Arteta's got another headache now with Saliba out of the picture. He's already scrambling with Martin Odegaard sidelined due to an injury, although Arteta dropped hints on Friday that the Norwegian maestro might make a comeback for the Liverpool face-off next weekend.
Missing from Arsenal's lineup was Bukayo Saka too, after picking up a knock on international duty.
The Premier League has clarified the reason behind Saliba's booking status switch from yellow to red during an ongoing game, indicating his action stifled a clear goal-scoring chance.
William Saliba
William Saliba was sent off on Saturday
"The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson," their statement explained. "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."
Sky Sports' very own David Jones quickly put the kibosh on any rumours that Webb had a hand in the decision live at the match, stating: "What we understand is he's listening to a match feed of the VAR officials and their communication with the on-field officials, just as we do as broadcasters."
"He has no input, no ability to talk to the officials. Just to clear that up for you."
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