Premier League panel deliver official verdict on Gabriel’s red card incident vs Chelsea

Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month.

It was a relatively comfortable afternoon affair for the Gunners, but Chelsea fans felt aggrieved by Gabriel avoiding a red card.

The Brazilian defender was on the ground and in a scramble took a swipe at a loose ball in the box, with his follow-through connecting with Emi Martinez’s head.

The incident wasn’t flagged by referee Chris Kavanagh, and VAR chose not to intervene, but the online outrage from Chelsea fans — and from ‘neutral’ fans — was predictable. Clips circulated on social media, and many pundits weighed in with mixed opinions. But Chelsea fans were convinced it should’ve been a red card.

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel have now delivered their official verdict, and it is unambiguous.

By a vote of 5-0, the panel unanimously backed the decision not to send Gabriel off. By another 5-0 vote, they supported VAR’s decision not to intervene. They explained their decision: “Multiple players were on the ground competing and challenging for the loose ball, and the action of Gabriel was not deemed to be an act of violent conduct or serious foul play.”

The panel also reviewed the other key decisions from the game. Both Ezri Konsa’s offside call that ruled out Riccardo Calafiori’s goal and the tight offside check on Kai Havertz’s equaliser were unanimously deemed correct.

But the main controversy from the match can now be put to bed. Arsenal fans had little doubt about any of this at the time, and now the panel unanimously agrees.

It will be interesting to see what the panel say next week about the decision to award Sunderland a penalty for a tussle involving Konsa and Dan Ballard at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night. Thankfully, David Raya’s heroics meant it didn’t cost them the game, but on any other night, it very well could have.