06 November 2023 , 11:52
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A former Premier League referee insists he can 'understand Mikel Arteta's frustrations' because 'three mistakes' were made during Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.
The Gunners lost at St James' Park after a controversial winner from Anthony Gordon. In the build up to the goal, Joe Willock narrowly kept the ball in play and Joelinton's strong challenge on Gabriel Magalhaes was judged to be fair. VAR reviewed both incidents.
Retired referee Mark Halsey has also reviewed the goal and believes there was a "clear push" from Joelinton on Gabriel. And he thinks Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes should've been sent off for "his forearm smash on the back of Jorginho's head".
Yet Halsey also believes Arsenal's Kai Havertz was lucky not to be sent off for his "poor challenge" on Sean Longstaff during the first half. Havertz flew into Longstaff and received a booking from referee Stuart Attwell. Halsey thinks it was "serious foul play".
Halsey reviewed the three controversial incidents in his column for The Sun. On Gordon's goal, he insists Arsenal can have no complaints about the ball remaining in play because there was "inconclusive" evidence to suggest otherwise.
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Yet Halsey does think there was a foul by Joelinton in the build up. He described it as a "high-profile error" and added: "Had ref Stuart Attwell disallowed the goal or VAR Andy Madley recommended a review then there would have been few complaints."
Halsey believes mistakes are now "happening every week" and slammed PGMOL, the body in charge of refereeing in the Premier League. He asked: "Why is this? The leadership, direction and coaching from Howard Webb's management team is not up to the task."
Webb is in charge of PGMOL. Halsey's comments come after Arteta criticised the referee's performance on Saturday in his post-match interview. He said: "I have to be here now to say it is not acceptable. We didn't deserve to lose the match. We lose the match because of the clear and obvious decisions. It's embarrassing. A disgrace. That's what it is - a disgrace.
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"You cannot imagine the amount of messages I got saying this cannot continue. I am wasting my time. We are wasting our time. I don't want to be in the hands of people."
Arsenal then released an official statement in support of their manager. It read: "Arsenal Football Club wholeheartedly supports Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments after yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors on Saturday evening.
"We’d also like to acknowledge the huge effort and performance from our players and travelling supporters at St James’ Park. The Premier League is the best league in the world with the best players, coaches and supporters, all of whom deserve better.
"PGMOL urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies. We support the ongoing efforts of Chief Refereeing Officer, Howard Webb and would welcome working together to achieve the world-class officiating standards our league demands."
Arsenal have been criticised for releasing that statement. Gary Neville has accused the Gunners of "undermining the system and the whole refereeing community", while Jamie Carragher described it as "way over the top".