Rio Ferdinand was on the spot to troll fuming Arsenal fans following their side’s draw with Brighton.
The Gunners took a deserved lead in the first-half with Kai Havertz lifting the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper after some fine work from Bukayo Saka.
But the game was turned on its head when Declan Rice was shown a red card four minutes into the second-half. The Gunners midfielder picked up his second booking of the game for what the Premier League confirmed was ‘delaying the restart’ after a foul on Joel Veltman.
Mikel Arteta and Bukayo Saka both pointed out inconsistencies in referee Chris Kavanagh’s performance after the game. Brighton striker Joao Pedro appeared to have been guilty of the same offence earlier in the match, booting the ball down the touchline having failed to keep it in play.
Arteta was seen pleading with the referee during that incident, waving his arms in the air as he edged closer to the pitch.
Amid the post-match fume, Ferdinand cheekily commented: ‘What’s Arteta doing outside his technical area?’ after sharing the clip – predictably drawing the ire of furious Gunners.
‘You’re paid to be impartial but instead you’re distracting from the type of inconsistency that ruins the game?’ One irked fan wrote. ‘The team it constantly benefits is dominating your own city btw. Have some shame.’
In case there was any confusion over Ferdinand’s tweet, the former Manchester United star confirmed he was indeed on a fishing expedition.
Arteta meanwhile was not amused with the decision that changed the game. ‘I was amazed,’ the said. ‘Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.
‘In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn’t see the player coming and he touches the ball.
‘By law, he (the referee) can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10 vs 10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing.’
Saka specifically mentioned the Pedro incident when asked about Rice’s sending off.
‘We just want some consistency,’ Saka said.
‘Joao Pedro booted the ball halfway across the pitch in the first half and got nothing for it. Dec got the slightest touch and was sent off.’
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