Liverpool supporters have questioned the consistency of Premier League refereeing after Arsenal's Bruno Guimaraes escaped a booking for a celebration similar to Alexander Isak's
Bruno Guimaraes of Arsenal FC celebrates after scoring goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match against Leeds United
Bruno Guimaraes scored the winning goal in Arsenal's Premier League victory over Leeds United(Image: Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Liverpool supporters have been left frustrated by the latest example of inconsistent refereeing in the Premier League.
Domestic football resumed this weekend following the international break, with current champion Arsenal featuring in Saturday's early kickoff. After a quiet first half at the Emirates Stadium, it was the visitors who opened the scoring just before the hour mark.
James Justin found the net for Leeds, but the visitors were only in dreamland momentarily as the Gunners fought back quickly. Fresh off a positive international break with Italy, Riccardo Calafiori leveled the score from close range.
Then, less than 10 minutes later, a well-worked Arsenal move ended with Bruno Guimaraes finding the net. But it was what happened afterward that got people talking.
In the midst of the celebrations, Guimaraes went over to the Arsenal supporters and was embraced by the crowd. It was, in effect, exactly what Alexander Isak did when he scored Liverpool 's winning goal against Bournemouth prior to the international break.
Rewind three weeks, and the Reds endured a difficult afternoon on the south coast. A second-half strike from Isak proved the vital difference, and his over-the-top celebrations with the away fans at the Vitality Stadium were subsequently punished by the referee with a yellow card.
However, the same cannot be said for Guimaraes, who avoided a booking altogether. Having only recently come off the bench, the Brazilian went on to see out the game without further incident.
Bruno Guimaraes of Arsenal FC celebrate with a fans after scoring the second goal during the Premier League match against Leeds United
Bruno Guimaraes avoided a booking despite celebrating with the Arsenal crowd(Image: Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
It prompted a flurry of questions and criticism from Liverpool fans on social media platform X, with one expressing: "Sums up consistency that Isak was booked for celebrating with the crowd. Bruno Guimaraes does it and there's no yellow. I'm a fan of not booking people for celebrating with fans, but when you book one you have to book them all. Embarrassing consistency again from the officials."
Another added: "Can someone explain to me how Isak got booked for celebrating with Liverpool fans away at Bournemouth, while Guimaraes celebrated with Arsenal fans in exactly the same way today and didn’t get a yellow card?"
It was only Isak's first booking of the Premier League season, and of course, an accumulation of bookings can result in suspension. Five bookings before a team's 19th league game result in a one-game ban, while 10 before its 32nd game result in a two-game suspension.
Guimaraes is yet to pick up a single booking in his first four league games. Just one of those has been a start, which came in the defeat against Brighton before the international break.