Arsenal handed official Gabriel verdict after controversial Martinez incident
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has unanimously backed the decision not to send Gabriel Magalhaes off during Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
Gabriel came under scrutiny following an incident involving Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez early in the London derby at the Emirates Stadium.
The Arsenal defender caught Martinez in the head with his boot as several players challenged for a loose ball inside the penalty area.
Referee John Brooks allowed play to continue without dismissing Gabriel, while VAR also decided against recommending an on-field review.
The incident subsequently generated debate over whether Gabriel’s challenge should have been considered serious foul play or violent conduct.
However, the Premier League’s independent KMI Panel has now strongly supported the officials’ handling of the situation.
All five members voted that the referee’s decision not to show Gabriel a red card was correct.
The panel concluded that several players were on the ground competing for the loose ball and Gabriel’s action did not meet the threshold for either serious foul play or violent conduct.
VAR’s decision not to intervene also received unanimous backing from the panel.
The verdict supports the view of former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, who previously argued that Gabriel was making a genuine attempt to play the ball rather than deliberately endangering Martinez.
Gabriel therefore remained on the pitch as Arsenal recovered from Morgan Rogers’ second-minute opener to secure another important victory.
Kai Havertz equalised against his former club in the 25th minute before Martin Odegaard completed the turnaround five minutes after half-time.
The KMI Panel also assessed two other significant decisions from the contest.
Arsenal briefly thought they had equalised through Riccardo Calafiori during the first half, but VAR intervened after Ezri Konsa was found to have been offside during the build-up.
While the assistant referee’s initial decision was unanimously deemed incorrect, the panel voted 5-0 that VAR was right to overturn the goal because Konsa was factually offside.
There was also unanimous agreement over Havertz’s equaliser, with the striker correctly judged to have been onside before beating Martinez.
The findings provide official backing for the major refereeing decisions during Arsenal’s comeback victory.
Arsenal have since extended their perfect Premier League start to four victories from four, with Saturday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland leaving the champions top of the table on 12 points.
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