Arsenal were reduced to nine men against Wolves and one of the red cards proved controversial
David Luiz was once again the centre of attention on Tuesday night, but one referee believes the Brazilian has been harshly treated.
Arsenal were reduced to 10 men during first-half injury-time at Molineux on Tuesday night when Luiz was shown a straight red card by referee Craig Pawson.
He was adjudged to have brought down the home side’s Willian Jose in the box as he went through on goal, and after consulting with VAR Pawson sent off the 33-year-old.
It was to be the first of two red cards shown to Mikel Arteta’s side as they went down 2-1, with goalkeeper Bernd Leno departing 18 minutes from time for a handball outside the penalty area.
The latter incident was clear cut, but Luiz’s dismissal proved controversial.
Speaking in the Daily Mail, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg felt the offence was only worthy of a yellow card.
He said: “David Luiz was incorrectly sent off after giving away a penalty at Wolves — it should have been a yellow card.
“The Arsenal defender made accidental contact with Willian Jose as he ran clear on goal and that caused the forward to fall. No-one can dispute it was a foul and the award of a penalty was the right decision.
“However, a law exists that protects teams from conceding a penalty and losing a player to a red card if a genuine attempt to play the ball has been made.
“Luiz was genuinely trying to get back on terms with Jose and it was an accidental foul.
“This type of incident is accepted as a penalty and yellow card. Referee Craig Pawson and VAR Jon Moss got it wrong.
“The law was meant to see players sent off after conceding a penalty only if they had deliberately fouled an opponent to deny a clear scoring opportunity. Arsenal and Luiz should feel aggrieved.”
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