William Saliba’s red card has been overturned following a review by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), allowing the Arsenal defender to play in the highly anticipated fixture against Liverpool.
This decision, which was made after an official review earlier this morning, has brought relief to Arsenal fans, who feared they would be without one of their key players for the crucial match.
Controversy surrounding Saliba’s dismissal during Arsenal’s game against Bournemouth initially led to confusion and criticism.
Referee Rob Jones had first shown Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Bournemouth’s Evanilson in the first half.
However, following a VAR review, the yellow was upgraded to a red card, meaning Saliba would have missed the upcoming clash with Liverpool.
This sparked questions from former players and pundits, including Jamie Carragher, who voiced his concerns over the decision-making process on social media.
In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), Carragher questioned whether Howard Webb, head of PGMOL, had any influence on the final decision to send off Saliba.
Carragher posted, “Did Howard Webb have a role in the red card decision for Saliba?”
His comments came after Webb was seen on his phone in the stands during the match, leading some to speculate about his possible involvement in the controversial decision.
The red card decision came at a challenging time for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who is already dealing with the absence of several key players due to injury.
Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has been sidelined, though Arteta hinted on Friday that Ødegaard could be fit enough to return for the Liverpool game.
Additionally, Bukayo Saka missed the match against Bournemouth after sustaining an injury while on international duty.
Arsenal fans were quick to express their frustration following Saliba’s dismissal.
Many took to social media, with some chanting “F*** Howard Webb” at the stadium in response to the red card decision.
Arsenal went into halftime without scoring any goals, and Saliba’s absence seemed to further complicate Arteta’s tactical plans for the remainder of the game.
In a statement explaining the rationale behind upgrading Saliba’s yellow card to red, the Premier League clarified that VAR had deemed Saliba’s foul a clear denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.
“The referee issued Saliba a yellow card for his challenge on Evanilson.
The VAR determined it was a denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review, leading to the upgrade to a red card,” read the Premier League’s official statement.
This incident is just the latest in a string of controversial refereeing decisions that have affected Arsenal this season.
Earlier, both Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard were shown red cards in separate matches, each receiving a second yellow for delaying restarts.
Trossard’s red card occurred during a recent high-profile game against Manchester City, further fueling Arsenal fans’ frustrations with officiating inconsistencies.
With Saliba’s red card now overturned, Arsenal will be hoping to approach their match against Liverpool at full strength.
However, Arteta will still need to navigate injuries to other key players and recent controversies as he prepares his squad for one of their toughest fixtures of the season.
