Jamie Carragher ignited debate on social media after questioning if PGMOL chief Howard Webb had a hand in the decision to upgrade William Saliba’s yellow card to a red during Arsenal’s match against Bournemouth.
Initially, referee Rob Jones booked Saliba for a foul on Evanilson during the first half of Saturday’s Premier League game at the Vitality Stadium. However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviewed the incident and recommended that the yellow card be changed to a red.
The red card means that Saliba will miss Arsenal’s crucial fixture against Liverpool next weekend. Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, took to social media to speculate whether Webb might have influenced the decision. His suspicion arose from the fact that Webb was seen speaking on his phone while sitting in the crowd.
Arsenal fans were visibly upset by the decision and expressed their anger by chanting against Webb and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
The match remained goalless by halftime, but Saliba’s early dismissal added more pressure on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. Arteta is already facing injury problems with key players like Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka unavailable, making Saliba’s absence a further complication.
Later, the Premier League issued a statement explaining the decision. According to the league, VAR advised the referee to conduct an on-field review after determining that Saliba had denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
As a result, the referee upgraded Saliba’s yellow card to a red. This decision only worsened Arsenal’s situation in what was already a difficult match for the team.
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