Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has insisted that Man City midfielder, Mateo Kovacic should have been issued two red cards for his bad tackles against Arsenal.
The English top flight’s referees were once again the center of controversy in several games.
During the clash between last season’s top two teams, the referee failed to send off Mateo Kovacic for rough challenges within minutes of each other.
“Mateo Kovacic was lucky to avoid a red card TWICE against Arsenal,” Halsey said in The Sun.
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“The Manchester City midfield man was fortunate not to be sent off by referee Michael Oliver for a poor studs-up challenge above the ankle of Martin Odegaard.
“On a yellow card after that, Kovacic soon produced another reckless tackle on Declan Rice, which deserved a second cautionable offense and therefore a sending-off.
“For the first challenge, ref Oliver did not have the best angle to initially determine if the Croatian endangered the player’s safety with excessive force. It was a red card so it was a surprise VAR official John Brooks did not recommend a review at the monitor.
“I believe if Oliver had seen the challenge again, then he would have sent Kovacic off. It’s where VAR should help but Brooks didn’t.
“Former Chelsea ace Kovacic was late on Rice and Oliver will look at that challenge again and beat himself up that he did not take more action than just a warning. Kovacic was extremely blessed to stay on the field of play at the Emirates.”
