Penalty Drama: Why Arsenal’s Raya Escaped a Red Card While Saliba Saw Red
Premier League clarifies why David Raya avoided a red card for his challenge on Evanilson, and the reasoning behind William Saliba’s dismissal
Arsenal lost 2-0 to Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday after a tough match. The Premier League has finally explained why the decision was upheld in the most dramatic part of the game when Bournemouth was given a penalty. Arsenal lost and dropped to third place in the table as a result of the penalty and William Saliba’s red card.
After defender William Saliba was sent off in the 30th minute, Arsenal faced a difficult challenge, playing one man down. Saliba’s foul on Bournemouth forward Evanilson, which the referee judged to be a clear goal-scoring opportunity blocked, was what resulted in his dismissal. Arsenal had just ten players to play with for the rest of the game.
Bournemouth used their 11 men advantage to the fullest in the second half. Ryan Christie scored the opening goal as a substitute, and Justin Kluivert added another to make the score 2-0. Arsenal’s chances of winning and topping Liverpool in the Premier League standings were destroyed.
The major drama in the match occurred when Bournemouth was given a penalty in the 77th minute. Evanilson was tackled close to the edge of the penalty area by David Raya, the Arsenal Goalkeeper. Bournemouth was immediately awarded a penalty by the referee. As usual, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) verified that the ruling was accurate. Raya and Evanilson made enough contact for a penalty to be awarded, according to VAR’s evaluation of the challenge.
Later, the Premier League published an explanation of this ruling on social media, claiming that Raya’s contact with Evanilson was “sufficient” for a penalty. In short, Raya’s challenge was declared a foul within the box because it prevented Evanilson from continuing the play.
#BOUARS – 76’
The referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Raya on Evanilson. The VAR checked and confirmed the referee’s call, deeming that contact was sufficient for a penalty.
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) October 19, 2024
Although David Raya caused the penalty, he only got a yellow card instead of being sent off. The reason for this was the “double jeopardy” rule. Instead of receiving a red card, a goalkeeper or defender who fouls an opponent inside the penalty area while making a sincere attempt to play the ball is given a yellow card. This regulation was put in place to prevent teams from receiving a penalty and losing a game for the same mistake twice.
The law states: “Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball; in all other circumstances (e.g. holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.) the offending player must be sent off.”
Raya was only given a yellow card in this case because he attempted to play the ball while tackling Evanilson. He would have been sent off with a red card if he was just pulling down Evanilson without trying to play the ball.
David Raya was able to remain on the pitch, but William Saliba was not as lucky. He will miss Arsenal’s match against Liverpool in their next Premier League match after receiving a red card for preventing Evanilson from a clear goal-scoring opportunity without making a play for the ball. A one-match punishment is imposed for such fouls, which carry a straight red card.
Losing Saliba is a big setback for Arsenal, especially with such an important game against Liverpool coming up. They will need to adjust their defense and find a way to cope without him.
