Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes
Slow-motion boots look worse than they feel in real time. Two bodies on the floor, a ball in a keeper’s hands, and a leg that keeps travelling.
Former referees and old midfielders rarely describe the same clip the same way. One sees a tangle. Another sees a slip. A third sees a red card.
Malice is the word that decides the argument. If it is not there, the conversation becomes VAR and whether anyone looked hard enough.
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Dermot Gallagher does not believe Gabriel Magalhães meant to catch Emiliano Martinez in the head during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea. Speaking about the challenge, which came just after Morgan Rogers had put Chelsea ahead, the former Premier League referee said the pictures show a scramble rather than a sending-off.
“I think a few reasons. They are all on the floor, there’s a big tangle. He goes to kick the ball and I think he gets the ball. That’s why it pops out of Martinez’s hands. He gets the ball and his foot goes up to catch Martinez in the head. I don’t think there is any malice at all in that.”
Tim Sherwood took a similar view and put more of the theatre on the goalkeeper. “I think his foot slipped off the top of the ball and caught Martinez. I think Martinez makes far too much of it. That is the red flag.”
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That sits against Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young on Match of the Day. Rooney said Gabriel was “extremely lucky” to stay on after swinging a leg “way over the top” with Martinez holding the ball. Young asked why it had not gone to VAR when Gabriel was “nowhere the ball”.
Referee Chris Kavanagh’s sightline was blocked. VAR did not recommend a review. Arsenal kept 11 men, Kai Havertz equalised and Martin Odegaard won the game. The clip still ran all night.
Gallagher’s reading is the most useful for Arteta. Get the ball, no intent, contact happens because everyone is on the ground. Sherwood’s line about Martinez making too much of it will travel among home supporters and irritate anyone in blue.
None of it changes the next fixture list. Arsenal go to Napoli on Wednesday. Gabriel will be available unless a panel later disagrees with Kavanagh. For now the official view on the pitch was no red, and two former voices have added no malice. The other two still think he got away with one.