There was a major moment of controversy in Sunday's clash between Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal.
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães was ‘very, very lucky’ to avoid a red card in his side’s 2-1 defeat against Premier League title rivals Manchester City that would have led to the Brazil star missing the Gunners’ weekend meeting with Newcastle United.
That was the verdict of former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher as he reflected on the most controversial incident of an eagerly anticipated clash between the top two. City were a goal ahead with just under ten minutes remaining when the Gunners defender and Erling Haaland went head-to-head after wrestling for possession. The City striker pushed Gabriel before the Arsenal star appeared to move his head towards the Norway international and that provoked a lot of post-match discussion with some stating a red card would have been shown if Haaland had gone to ground.
Premier League statement
The Premier League released a statement within minutes of the incident as they clarified the on-field decision via their ‘Match Centre’ X account. A post read: The referee’s call of no red card was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the action from Gabriel deemed not to be excessively aggressive or violent.”
To compound City’s annoyance over the decision, head coach Pep Guardiola received a yellow card for his remonstrations in the aftermath of the incident. Despite many onlookers believing the Gunners defender should have been handed a more severe punishment, former Premier League referee believes the officials came to the right decision - despite conceding Gabriel was ‘very, very lucky’ Haaland did not make more of the coming together.
Ref Watch
Speaking on Sky Sports ‘Ref Watch’, the former FIFA official said: "I think it was a very fair outcome, to be honest. I think both of them are aggressive, both of them, the whole game. It epitomised what's at stake. I think Gabriel is very unwise with what he does; it's not the cleverest thing to do, and he runs a massive risk. What I will say, though, he was very, very lucky that Haaland was very responsible because I think if he hits the deck, the whole landscape changes."
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