Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was dismissed by referee Chris Kavanagh during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brighton, and the England star has now shared his perspective on the incident.
Following his controversial red card, Rice has apologized to his Arsenal teammates. The midfielder was shown a second yellow card early in the second half for allegedly obstructing Joel Veltman from taking a quick free-kick near the corner flag. Rice had previously been booked for a hard tackle on Veltman in the first half, which Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler later suggested could have warranted further action.
Expressing his regret, Rice stated, “This is my first career red card, so I wanted to apologize to my teammates, which I’ve done, and to the fans as well.”
“When you get sent off, it’s never nice, you get a sense of guilt over you, and I was lucky today that my teammates really helped me out and we didn’t lose the game. I’ll learn from it.”
Rice also expressed his astonishment at Kavanagh’s decision, though he admitted that there are lessons to be taken from the costly incident.
He added: “Yeah I was shocked, I think you could see in my face I was shocked. He’s obviously gone over, I’ve not sprinted over and smashed the ball away, I’ve touched the ball with the outside of my foot.
“But look, this is the laws of the game. If you touch ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card after my challenge in the first half which I fully accept was a 50-50 that I didn’t win.
“But the second half one, especially with it being in the corner flag, they can’t really progress anywhere from there. It was tough, it was harsh, but it’s one of those things.
“I have to move on from it, I will be better for it and I can only praise the players for digging deep for me, and the manager for pushing everyone, and the fans as well who were unbelievable again this afternoon. That’s how I see it.”
Rice’s suspension means he’ll miss Arsenal’s crucial North London Derby against Tottenham after the international break, a blow that could have major implications.
In the first half, Arsenal took the lead thanks to Kai Havertz, who capitalized on a defensive blunder by Brighton’s captain, Lewis Dunk, and a slick assist from Bukayo Saka. Havertz expertly chipped the ball over Bart Verbruggen to score.
However, Joao Pedro, who Mikel Arteta criticized for a first-half incident where he kicked the ball away, leveled the score for Brighton in the 58th minute.
Despite Havertz and Saka having key opportunities to secure a win in the final 10 minutes, Arsenal might consider a point well-earned given they played with 10 men for over 41 minutes plus stoppage time.
