Ex-Premier League ref names THREE reasons why William Saliba should not have been sent off

William Saliba was shown a red card as Arsenal fell to their first Premier League defeat of the season against Bournemouth as Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert scored at the Vitality stadium

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes there are three reasons why William Saliba should not have been sent off against Bournemouth.

The Cherries made use of their advantge to claim victory over Arsenal, as the Gunners dropped points after going down to 10 men for the third time this season. The north London side had to play for an hour without Saliba’s services after the Frenchman was given his marching orders in the opening period.

The central defender hauled down Bournemouth forward Evanilson on the halfway line but was initially only shown a yellow card. However, VAR then deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review.

That saw referee Rob Jones decide to upgrade his sanction to a red card. Saliba will now be banned for Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool.

Ex-ref Halsey does not believe that VAR should have intervened however. The retired official believes that Saliba’s challenge did not even meet three of four criteria required to award a red.

“It’s a subjective decision, so I didn’t think VAR Jarred Gillett needed to get involved,” Halsey told the Sun. “For the denial of a goalscoring opportunity, we look at four key criteria. And I had doubts over three of those.

“The distance between the offence and the goal was lengthy, the general direction of play saw the ball coming across Evanilson and not in front of him and also the location and number of defenders was questionable.

“The likelihood of him keeping or gaining control of the ball would have probably been in the favour of the Cherries forward because David Raya was back-pedalling towards his own goal.”

While there appears to be some debate about the decision to award Saliba red, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was frustrated with his team’s naivety. The England international was pleased with the fight the side offered however.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the defeat, Rice said: “We’ve kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games and we got away with it at home to Brighton and away at Manchester City. Bournemouth kept probing and made it 2-0.

“I’m proud of the players for fighting, even with 10 men, but the naivety, we need to stop making mistakes because you want 11 players for 90 minutes and that’s what wins you football matches.

“With 10 men we showed a lot of character and personality to stay in the game. The big chance was Martinelli’s and the keeper read it and made a great save and one minute later, normally a routine we are so strong at, has done us.

“We can’t make silly mistakes. You need all your best players on the pitch at all times. The belief is so high and we will stick together. This is football, whatever happens the most important thing is that you stick together and stay in the right direction.”

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