Howard Webb admits Joao Pedro should have received a yellow card sooner Declan Riceit's red Arsenaltie com Brighton More from the past
Arsenal were left furious after Rice received a second yellow card for kicking the ball too long. 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium on August 31.
But shortly before Rice was sent off, Brighton striker Joao Pedro got away with it after delaying Arsenal's ability to restart the game by kicking a long ball.
Webb, who chairs the PGMOL, admitted referee Chris Kavanagh should also have shown a yellow card to Joao Pedro, but defended the referee's decision to send off Rice.
Asked about Joao Pedro being on the receiving end of a long-term red card, Webb replied: “It wasn't (a yellow card), it should have been.”
“It's a different kind of scenario, it involves the same kind of reservation regarding postponement or restart. Of course, he should have been warned here.
“The referees on the pitch have had a lot of their lives and they feel that the actions are not really impressive because they will feel that the Arsenal players are not ready to make that change, they are a bit off the ball, and Veltman (Rice comes in) was there
“When we look at it, it is quite clear that Pedro's actions had an impact, which delayed Arsenal's ability to resume play, and that should have been a yellow card.
We have certainly sent that message to officials. We want to be consistent in applying these types of disciplinary sanctions, and we are committed to dealing with players who delay or resume play.
“Nothing touched the ball or it would lead to a yellow card. You have to see what the player’s intentions are, what the impact of the player’s actions is. Maybe there is no impact at all, so we won’t show the yellow card. But in a situation where we see that impact – and we have a player like Pedro – we have to see the yellow card and that is the response we give to the referees.
Asked if Rice's yellow card could have been avoided, Webb said: “No, no.”
“As you heard from Chris Kavanagh, you obviously saw Declan Rice make a foul and have to kick the ball back to the opponent who was in the process of collecting the foul.
“We sent a very clear and strong message to the players in pre-season about the importance of not spinning the ball after a game, not delaying or restarting the wrong way and we said we would be consistent going forward. We will deal with this in the same way we did last season, or the number of yellow cards for delaying or restarting that were given last season.
“As people we want to see the game with rhythm and fluidity. Now that you think he saw Declan Rice kick the ball away from the place of the mistake, that doesn’t mean he has another chance not to be sent off.
Asked about the ball still moving while Veltman was trying to commit a foul, Webb replied: “It could have been, but Declan Rice still felt the need to kick the ball long. That's the effect.
“We have to think about what the player is facing in the situation, it is very clear that he makes the decision to do this, to shoot the opponent’s ball. The lidar referee works with everything or the rest.
“In this case, where Rice’s actions were intended to delay or restart the match, I did not believe that any claim could be made where her actions resulted in a yellow card.”
Asked if Veltman could have been ejected for his violent conduct after shooting Rice, Webb replied: “Well, the ball is there, he got fouled, so it's hard to say anything else really.”
“He's obviously looking up the pitch and he's going to kick the ball that Rice's balls hit, so there's nothing that could be wrong at that particular time in the circumstances where the ball is ready to be kicked by the player who gets a free kick,” he added.
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