Mark Goldbridge Rips Into Premier League Officials Over Declan Rice’s Controversial Red Card
The VAR audio of Declan Rice’s sending-off against Brighton has finally been released, and Mark Goldbridge is not impressed. The Manchester United fan and YouTuber took to social media to express his frustration with the officials and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) over their handling of the incident.
The audio, which was released on the latest episode of Sky Sports’ Mic’d Up, shows referee Chris Kavanagh telling Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard that Rice put him "in an awful position" by kicking the ball away from Joel Veltman. Kavanagh also tells Rice that he had no choice but to give him a second yellow card, citing that the midfielder deliberately kicked the ball away from the position of the free kick.
But Goldbridge doesn’t buy it. "That Declan Rice second yellow VAR audio is a disgrace," he tweeted. "One big mates club again protecting each other and not one voice of common sense when 90% of people watching knew it was soft."
Goldbridge is right; the decision to give Rice a second yellow card and subsequent red card was widely debated, with many feeling that it was a soft decision. But what’s more concerning is the lack of transparency and consistency from the PGMOL.
Howard Webb, the PGMOL’s chief operation officer, defended Kavanagh’s decision on Mic’d Up, saying that the referee had clearly seen Rice commit a foul and then kick the ball away. But Goldbridge is not convinced. "We’ve messaged very clearly and strongly to the players in pre-season around the importance of not getting involved with the ball once the whistle is gone, not delaying the restart in that way," he said. "Once he’s seen Declan Rice deliberately, clearly kick that ball away from the position of that free-kick, then I don’t think he’s got any choice."
So, what’s the takeaway from this controversy? The PGMOL needs to do better in terms of transparency and consistency. The VAR system is meant to help improve the game, not create more controversy and confusion. And referees need to be held accountable for their decisions.
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