I thought I had reached my maximum with the frustration and disdain I have for the officiating in this country and the lack of consistency shown by the current referees and VAR officials in the Premier League. On Tuesday night as Arsenal secured a 97th minute winner at Luton Town, it reached new heights.
Mikel Arteta was shown a yellow card for excessive goal celebration, sources have toldfootball.london following Declan Rice’s dramatic winner. He spoke to reporters after the game and said what everyone was thinking whilst holding back certainly far more than I would have been capable of.
He told BeIN Sport: “I could not be seated in my seat. It was pure emotion. If that’s a yellow… that’s a yellow.”
The card is Arteta’s third of the season and means that he will be suspended from the clash between Aston Villa and the Gunners this weekend. He will be in the stands for the game at Villa Park and Albert Stuivenberg will take charge of the game, like he did against Man City when the Spaniard was out with Covid-19.
What does this yellow card mean for the sport? Nothing good is the answer.
Yes, there are rules in place and those rules are there for a reason. However, plenty of the rules in football both on and off the field are subjective and are encouraged to take into consideration plenty of factors from intent to control to motivation and common sense.
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It is the common sense element that was missing from the decision to brandish Arteta with his yellow. The 97th-minute winner sent the Arsenal players and supporters into raptures and for good
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