Arsenal Boss Arteta Denies Controversial Referee Decisions After Aston Villa Defeat
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta kept his comments brief when asked about the controversial refereeing decisions that impacted his team in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa. When questioned about the penalty appeal and equaliser that his side were denied, Arteta simply repeated the phrase “clear and obvious.” This response was in stark contrast to his previous outburst after a similar narrow loss to Newcastle United.
Villa scored an intricately crafted opening goal by John McGinn early in the match, but Arsenal grew stronger, dominating the remainder of the game, as confirmed by Villa’s goalkeeper Emi Martinez. In the final minute of regulation time, Kai Havertz put the ball in the net, only for his celebrations to be cut short by the referee’s whistle.
Arsenal’s equalizer was disallowed due to an attacking handball by Havertz, as per the Law 12 in the FA handbook that states if a player “scores in the opponents’ goal immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental.” However, there may have been questions about the innocence of Villa’s Matty Cash in this incident, as the ball first bounced off Havertz onto Cash’s outstretched arm, narrowly above the infamous ‘shoulder line’ used as the boundary for handball decisions. The officials in Stockley Park, however, concluded that the ball didn’t strike Cash’s hand – a decision that is difficult to make even with multiple angles and replays.
A controversial challenge from Douglas Luiz on Gabriel Jesus occurred at the start of the second half, with Arsenal being denied a penalty. Arsenal’s high-energy approach was evident as Jesus pounced upon Luiz’s loose touch inside Villa’s box. The number nine got his boot to the dropping ball before Luiz, who connected with Jesus’ heel.
The decision to wave away Arsenal’s appeals was made all the more surprising after a similar incident earlier in the day during Liverpool’s match against Crystal Palace. This incident resulted in a penalty being awarded to Crystal Palace after VAR scrutiny. Evidently, the VAR in charge of Arsenal’s game, Michael Salisbury, had decided that no “clear and obvious” error had been made, leading to Arteta’s brief response of “I think that is even clearer” regarding the penalty appeal.
This lack of clear answers will undoubtedly fuel the ongoing debate about the inconsistent and controversial nature of refereeing decisions in football. While Arteta chose to remain tight-lipped, the frustration of Arsenal and their fans is palpable, leaving many to wonder when more clarity and consistency will come to the world of football officiating.
