🚨⚽BREAKING NEWS: The Premier League has finally acknowledged the horrible VAR blunder committed by the referee during the arsenal vs Brighton match. It is really unfortunate that the referee’s negligence caused us to draw the match; we cannot allow this to occur and the match needs to be replayed.😡😡😡

The Premier League has confirmed that Declan Rice’s red card in Arsenal’s match against Brighton was for ‘delaying a restart,’ despite Rice being kicked by Brighton’s Joel Veltman. The incident occurred after Rice was already on a yellow card. He was penalized after slightly touching the ball before taking a free-kick, which led to Veltman’s retaliatory kick. The referee deemed Rice’s action as delaying the restart, leading to his second yellow card.

The decision was made in accordance with the new Premier League regulations for the 2024/25 season, which stipulate that deliberate delays in restarting play will result in a yellow card. Despite protests from Rice and his teammates, the VAR review upheld the referee’s decision.

The Premier League’s official guidelines clarify that any attempt to delay play, including by players or technical staff, will result in a yellow card for players and dismissal for technical area staff.

The controversial decision left commentators and fans perplexed. TNT Sports’ Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist expressed their confusion, with McCoist questioning Veltman’s actions and suggesting he was fortunate to avoid a red card.

Rice’s dismissal proved costly as Joao Pedro equalized for Brighton just nine minutes later, following Kai Havertz’s first-half goal. The match ended 1-1, with both teams remaining unbeaten as the season progresses. Rice will be suspended for Arsenal’s upcoming North London Derby against Tottenham.