The Premier League has released a statement explaining why Declan Rice was sent off for a second bookable offense against Brighton.
The midfielder received his first red card as an Arsenal player after being judged to have tried to stop the restart of the game during the fixture.
Since Rice had already been cautioned earlier, the referee had no choice but to send him off.
However, replays showed that he did not make a deliberate attempt to block the restart, a view shared by most observers.
Despite this, the Premier League, in their explanation of the incident, insisted that Rice was cautioned for attempting to block the restart, which led to his second yellow card.
The Premier League tweeted:
“The referee issued a second yellow card to Declan Rice for delaying the restart.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Rice did not seem to make a deliberate attempt to stop the restart. However, the referee has already made his decision.
We have to move on and prepare for the next game without him in our plans.
Facing Tottenham without Rice on the team will be tough, but our other players must step up now and prove their worth.
