Two different players should have been sent off against Aston Villa earlier this season, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has determined
Arsenal's Mikel Merino should have been sent off against Aston Villa
Arsenal's Mikel Merino should have been sent off against Aston Villa(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images))
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The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has ruled that two different players should have been sent off against Aston Villa during the first half of the season.
The KMI Panel meets weekly to scrutinise decisions made by referees and VAR, reviewing all incidents in matches.
Created in 2022, the panel comprises five members: three former players and coaches, plus one representative each from the Premier League and the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO).
The purpose of the KMI Panel is to examine a range of refereeing decisions and assess the use of VAR.
One aspect the panel also considers is second yellow cards that were either missed or incorrectly shown.
So far this season, the panel has determined that five players have escaped a second caution, as data provided by the BBC suggests. Villa have been the hardest done by in this category, with two of the five errors involving their matches.
The panel ruled that André should have received a second yellow card at Villa Park at the end of November, while Mikel Merino should also have been sent off against Unai Emery’s side.
Merino fouled Morgan Rogers in the second half of Villa’s defeat at Arsenal but remained on the pitch despite already being on a booking.
At that point, Arsenal were 2-0 up, though they had previously failed to hold the same lead in last season’s corresponding fixture, when Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins struck to make it 2-2 at the Emirates.
Elsewhere, Malick Thiaw (against Bournemouth), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (against Manchester United), and Ruben Dias (against Nottingham Forest) should all have received second bookings as well.
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