A controversial referee who has officiated games involving Arsenal has been selected by the Premier League to oversee the North London Derby.
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, might not be pleased with the Premier League’s choice of referee Jarred Gillett to preside over Sunday’s eagerly awaited North London derby between Tottenham Hotspur.
The last time Gillett was in charge of Arsenal was during the team’s opening weekend match against Wolves, which infuriated a lot of Arsenal supporters. Gillett has been involved in a number of contentious incidents involving Arsenal.
The game’s turning point occurred when Yerson Mosquera, a Wolves defender, grabbed Kai Havertz of Arsenal by the throat. Fans and commentators were confused when Gillett and VAR decided not to show a red card despite how serious the incident appeared to be. The Arsenal supporters were extremely irritated by this choice as well as other incidents that occurred during the game.
After just four games this season, Gillett will now be in charge of his second Arsenal Premier League game. Given his recent history with the team, the timing has drawn criticism, especially from Arsenal fans who have expressed their discontent on social media.
Prior to Sunday’s derby, Arteta himself is facing an increasing number of challenges due to an expanding injury list that includes new signing Mikel Merino and important players Martin Odegaard.
There were many contentious moments in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Wolves. Apart from the Havertz incident, Mosquera also got into a strange fight with Gabriel Jesus in which the Arsenal striker claimed that he grabbed him inappropriately. Jesus reacted and received a yellow card, but Mosquera was once again not punished, which infuriated the Arsenal camp even more.
Gillett has a history with Arsenal that predates this current campaign. He was part of a contentious incident at Aston Villa last year when he disallowed a Havertz goal late on, despite Arsenal’s claim that he had an obstructed view. Once more, VAR remained silent.
Moreover, on New Year’s Day in 2022, Gillett was the Video Assistant Referee during Arsenal vs. Manchester City, where Granit Xhaka’s challenge on Bernardo Silva resulted in the overturning of a penalty call in favor of City.
Gillett’s apparent fandom for Liverpool is a further intriguing detail, as per media reports from his home country of Australia. The fact that he has only officiated one charity game at Anfield, as some have noted, has sparked more rumors among supporters.
