Referee Chris Kavanagh, who sent off Arsenalโs Declan Rice during their Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion in August, explained to the midfielder that while he โdoesnโt like the rules,โ Riceโs actions left him in an โawful position.โ
Rice, already on a yellow card, clashed with Brightonโs Joel Veltman along the touchline in a heated exchange. The England international was judged to have kicked the ball away from Veltman before being taken down. This led to Rice receiving a second yellow card, ultimately leaving Arsenal with 10 men. Brighton capitalized, with Joao Pedro scoring the equalizer, despite Arsenal having been in control before the red card.
Kavanagh Claims Rice Gave Him โNo Choiceโ
Kavanagh defended his decision, stating, โI donโt like the rule, but Rice has knocked the ball.โ Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his disbelief at the decision, while pundit Peter Crouch criticized the referee for inconsistency.
As part of the โMatch Officials Micโd Upโ programme, audio from the incident was aired, revealing Kavanaghโs reasoning to the Arsenal players. Speaking to Kai Havertz, Kavanagh explained he had โno choiceโ after Rice kicked the ball away, which prompted protests from several Arsenal players.
Kavanagh later spoke to Rice and captain Martin Odegaard, telling the latter, โHeโs put me in an awful position,โ before explaining his decision to Rice directly:
โYou did kick the ball, you did. Dec, you need to go. I donโt like itโฆ but you knocked the ball. You need to go, Iโm afraid.โ
The decision was supported by the VAR team at Stockley Park, who confirmed: โKav, itโs all checked and cleared. Itโs exactly as seen.โ