Gabriel Martinelli shoved Liverpool's Conor Bradley off the pitch and threw the ball at him after he appeared to sustain an injury during Arsenal's goalless draw with Liverpool at the Emirates
Daniel Orme Football Writer and Richard Garnett
11:38, 09 Jan 2026
Gabriel Martinelli
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Gabriel Martinelli has escaped punishment from The FA(Image: Getty Images)
Gabriel Martinelli will dodge any punishment for his push on Conor Bradley that triggered a heated melee on the pitch. The Arsenal winger shoved the Liverpool defender off the field and hurled the ball at him after Bradley appeared to suffer a serious injury in the final moments of Thursday night's stalemate at the Emirates.
Martinelli has since made amends with an apology, and according to the Standard, the Football Association won't be taking any further disciplinary measures.
It's believed that the governing body was satisfied that referee Anthony Taylor handled the situation properly at the time. The FA only considers retrospective punishment for match incidents when they feel the referee or VAR officials have overlooked crucial details.
Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal tries to shove Conor Bradley of Liverpool off the pitch after he appeared to have suffered a serious injury
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Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal tries to shove Conor Bradley of Liverpool off the pitch after he appeared to have suffered a serious injury(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Since Taylor booked Martinelli during the game, this particular situation doesn't warrant additional scrutiny.
Taking to social media, Martinelli explained: "Conor and I have messaged and I have already apologised to him. I really didn't understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment.
"I want to say I'm deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery."
The Brazilian's conduct attracted fierce criticism from television pundits after the final whistle, with Gary Neville leading the charge in his condemnation. During his commentary, he declared: "You cannot push him off the pitch, you cannot do that, you idiot.
"I am surprised one of the Liverpool players hasn't gone over and had a right pop at him. I think an apology is needed.
"I'm fuming with Martinelli, I don't know how a Liverpool player didn't go and whack him and take the red card. Absolutely disgraceful."
Fellow Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane added: "It's not good. First of all, throwing the ball at him, standing over him. He's got a bit of a knee in him, he's trying to force him off. I think that behaviour is an absolute disgrace."
The severity of Bradley's apparent knee injury remains unclear, but he's anticipated to face a prolonged period on the treatment table as the Northern Ireland international recovers from this latest blow.
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot will need to reorganise his backline yet again.
Summer acquisition Jeremie Frimpong appears the most probable replacement for Bradley at right-back, though Joe Gomez and Calvin Ramsay represent two other possibilities.
Both Gomez and Ramsay will be vying for starting positions against Barnsley in Monday evening's FA Cup Third Round clash at Anfield.