ENGLISH Premier League clubs are calling for more consistency from referees in the aftermath of the red card Declan Rice received for Arsenal against Brighton and Hove Albion
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Premier League clubs want to see greater consistency regarding new refereeing directives.
Officials visited each top-flight team before the new season began to detail what they would be working to tackle, including preventing the quick restart of matches and players crowding around referees. Anthony Taylor briefed the Arsenal squad on these changes, cautioning them that referees were now particularly vigilant about punishing players delaying quick free kicks.
The warning was that any offence deemed “clear, deliberate and impactful on the game” would result in a yellow card. This push for stricter officiating comes after statistics showed an increase from 118 incidents of delaying restarts in the 2022/23 season to 215 in the 2023/24 campaign.
Declan Rice became the first real player affected by this tighter enforcement, receiving a booking that led to his sending off during the Gunners’ game against Brighton and Hove Albion. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left seething following the match, echoing the broader grievances within the club concerning decision-making inconsistencies, particularly over the past weekend.
This sentiment of a perceived discrepancy in decisions is shared widely among managers throughout the league. Gunners supporters have highlighted on social media as many as eight other instances where players faced no repercussions for impeding swift restarts in other Premier League matches.
Dermot Gallagher and his regular Ref Watch segment on Sky Sports News every Monday has also been picked up on by fans. Gallagher, who is not part of the PGMOL team and instead works for Sky, defended referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision to send off Rice for a second yellow card after he seemed to kick the ball away before Joel Veltman could take a free kick, resulting in him kicking the Arsenal midfielder.
However, sharp-eyed fans have noticed a “carbon copy” of the Rice incident from three years ago involving former Gunners player Henri Lansbury, who was playing for Luton Town when he kicked Swansea City defender Ryan Manning.
Lansbury received a yellow card, and Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, reviewed the incident and said he “could not understand why it’s not a red card”. While they criticised Lansbury, Gallagher conceded that Veltman “maybe” knew what he was doing but still cleared the Brighton defender of any blame.
There is still some surprise that Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Yerson Mosquera avoided a red card despite holding Kai Havertz by the throat in Arsenal’s season-opener after Rice saw red for seemingly kicking the ball away.
The eight separate incidents last weekend now circulating online of players delaying a quick restart without punishment involve Marc Cucurella, Diogo Dalot, Marc Guehi, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Dejan Kulusevski, Cole Palmer and Pedro Porro. In Arsenal’s match at the Emirates Stadium, Joao Pedro avoided a booking for kicking the ball away in front of the technical area.
Danny Welbeck also escaped caution despite gesturing an imaginary card, another bookable offence. Towards the end of the game, Brighton defender Pervis Estupinan also picked up the ball and kicked it away before a free kick.
Late last season, Wolves attempted to ban VAR amidst widespread dissatisfaction with refereeing standards and the PGMOL. Concerns among clubs existed at the end of last season regarding the PGMOL, with some raising questions about why there has not been a significant improvement in standards under Howard Webb.
This issue is likely to be discussed in future Premier League meetings – with the next scheduled for the end of September – while the PGMOL maintains that decision accuracy remains at an all-time high. The PGMOL is also fast-tracking former players into their ranks. Its officials are also on UEFA and FIFA lists and command respect across Europe.
