Sport

Tottenham Given a Gift Ahead of North London Derby

Published

2 weeks ago

August 31, 2024

Declan Rice was handed a second yellow card against Brighton for delaying a restart which leaves the England star in danger of missing the north London derby next week

The Premier League confirmed Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton for ‘delaying a restart’ despite the Arsenal star being kicked.

The England international is now set to be banned for Arsenal’s match in two weeks against fierce rivals Tottenham after picking up two yellow cards. Rice was furious after his controversial red card, having been booted by Joel Veltman after slightly kicking the ball as he attempted to take a free-kick.

Rice clearly felt that Veltman was lashing out having gotten tangled up with the Arsenal star and ending up on the floor just moments before. But the referee deemed that the Brighton star was trying to restart the game after winning a free-kick and Rice’s little touch on the ball resulted in him taking the brunt of his kick.

According to new Premier League rules that have come into effect for the 2024/25 season, deliberate actions to delay a restart will result in a yellow card for players and members of a team’s staff. Despite angry protests from Rice and his team-mates, the referee’s decision was backed up by VAR as the England star was forced to trudge off the pitch.

The Premier League website states: “It remains the case that a club’s technical area staff who deliberately delay the restart of play by holding on to the ball, kicking the ball away, etc will be sent off. Any players who do the same in the technical area will receive a yellow card.”

TNT Sports commentators Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist were left bemused by the sending off with the latter saying: “I don’t know what Declan Rice is meant to do. It looked like it was a kick-out at him! I think Joel Veltman is lucky to stay on the pitch with his kick out.”

Declan Rice is set to miss the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in two weeks

Fans on social media were equally baffled with one supporter writing: “That is absolutely scandalous from the referee. I cannot believe that decision. Joao Pedro launched the ball halfway up the pitch earlier and wasn’t booked, then Rice gets sent off for THAT? I honestly can’t believe it. Have some common sense for f*** sake.”

While another took to X (formerly Twitter) and commented: “How does Declan rice get a red card for getting kicked????” Rice’s sending off was compounded by Joao Pedro netting his second goal of the season nine minutes later to level the scoring at the Emirates, following Kai Havertz’ opener in the first half.