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'Sickening and ridiculous' - Fans react as Howard Webb explains Mateo Kovacic controversy at Arsenal
Fans have reacted to PGMOL boss Howard Webb’s comments on the decision to allow booked Man City midfielder Mateo Kovacic to stay on the pitch after his challenge on Arsenal star Declan Rice.
The Gunners nonetheless went on to claim a 1-0 home victory over the treble-winners at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (8 October).
Kovacic was initially cautioned by referee Michael Oliver for a robust tackle on Martin Odegaard but escaped punishment for a similar lunge on Rice just six minutes later.
PGMOL boss Webb, speaking on the Premier League’s Match Officials Mic’d Up show, discussed the controversy on Tuesday (10 October).
He claimed that Kovacic could have even seen red for the first tackle, stating: “I’m pretty confident had a red card been given by Michael Oliver on the day, it would have been a very straightforward ‘check complete.’”
Addressing the second incident, Webb insisted the Man City star was “extremely fortunate to stay on the field of play”.
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He said: “He [Oliver] doesn’t want to have a negative impact on the game by overreacting to something.”
“There will be pressure to show a second one [yellow]. Pressure will come from the players on the field, but you know that’s also true that if you under-react you have a negative impact on the game.”
But some fans were left unsatisfied with Webb’s explanation, with one Arsenal supporter branding the defence “sickening and ridiculous”.
The fact that Howard Webb is trying to justify the reason why Mateo Kovacic didn’t get a red card for that horrific tackle on odegaard is sickening and ridiculous. All we ask for from referees is to be consistent, what the difference between this tackle and the one that got the…
— GunnersDen (@GunnersD3n) October 10, 2023
Another Gunners fan bemoaned the volume of apologies from Premier League officials and questioned when an improvement in standards will arrive.
Every week there is an apology. When will there be an improvement
— P™ (@SemperFiArsenal) October 10, 2023
Meanwhile, one Chelsea fan highlighted the similarities between the Kovacic incident and the decision to send Blues defender Malo Gusto off for a second bookable offence against Aston Villa last month.
Gusto who contacted the ball and whose foot was facing down was a red, but here Kova misses the ball by a mile and shows his full foot to the opponent’s leg is a yellow. So confusing?
— Karter ⭐️⭐️ (@CFCKarter) October 10, 2023
In a similar vein, other supporters criticised the lack of “consistency” in decisions week-to-week.
There’s absolutely zero consistently from one week to another
— chef dave critchley (@DaveJCritchley) October 10, 2023
In other news, Arsenal told to submit “huge” offer for winger.