After Declan Rice’s red card, Mikel Merino has returned to Arsenal’s training in preparation for Tottenham. Congratulations, supporters of Arsenal.
Officials visited every Premier League team prior to the 2023–24 season to go over the new guidelines and areas of emphasis, which included steps to stop players from swarming around referees and to prevent matches from restarting too quickly. Anthony Taylor was a major driving force behind these briefings; he went to Arsenal and informed the players that referees would be especially harsh when it came to punishing delays in play restarts.
He clarified that under the new rules, a yellow card would be given for any infraction considered to be “clear, deliberate, and impactful on the game”.
The number of instances of players delaying play increased from 118 in the 2022–2023 season to 215 in the current campaign, prompting this crackdown. Declan Rice of Arsenal is one of the first well-known players to be impacted by the more stringent regulations that are now in place. During Arsenal’s match against Brighton and Hove Albion, Rice appeared to delay a free kick and was given a second yellow card. As a result, Rice was sent off.
The decision infuriated Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, as it added to the club’s mounting annoyance at what they perceive to be biased refereeing decisions, particularly during the previous weekend.
Many other Premier League managers have voiced similar concerns regarding the perceived inconsistencies in refereeing, so this frustration is not unique to Arsenal. Social media has also been used by supporters to draw attention to several instances in recent games where players postponed restarts without being penalized.
Indeed, the argument over refereeing standards has been fueled by the identification by Arsenal supporters of at least eight similar incidents that occurred in other Premier League games but went unpunished.
Dermot Gallagher, a prominent analyst of these incidents, frequently examines contentious refereeing decisions on Sky Sports News. Gallagher is no longer connected to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), but his views are still frequently heard in public.
Rice was given a second yellow card for delaying a free kick, but he defended referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision to send Rice off, saying that Rice’s actions warranted it. Fans, however, have brought up a comparable incident that happened three years ago involving Henri Lansbury, a former Arsenal player who was only given a yellow card for kicking an opponent. The consistency of the refereeing decisions has come under increased scrutiny as a result.
The controversy has also been heightened by other incidents involving players, such as Yerson Mosquera of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who was not sent off for a seemingly more serious offense.
Both supporters and commentators have emphasized that although Rice was dismissed for a small infraction, more obvious transgressions in other games went unpunished. Debates have centered on the referees’ inconsistent handling of these situations, with fans pointing out instances in which players like Marc Cucurella, Diogo Dalot, and Joao Pedro delayed restarts without getting cards.
The role of VAR, which has also drawn criticism, further muddies the situation. Wolves even tried to outlaw VAR late in the previous season as their discontent with officiating standards grew. Clubs have expressed concerns about the overall standard of officiating and have questioned why, in Howard Webb’s tenure at PGMOL, there hasn’t been a discernible improvement.
The ongoing discussion about refereeing standards is anticipated to be a major point of discussion at the Premier League meetings, the next of which is set for the end of September. The PGMOL is working to expedite former players into officiating roles and maintains that decision accuracy is at an all-time high, but as the season goes on, managers, players, and fans will likely demand more consistency.
