VIDEO: Scandal! Where was VAR? The public criticizes the devastating tackle for which Mateo Kovacic was incomprehensibly shown only a yellow card

The eighth round of the Premier League was played at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal welcomed Manchester City. A football advert was expected, unfortunately the football side of things goes by the wayside. In fact, another refereeing incident is being dealt with, as Mateo Kovacic was only shown a yellow card for a devastating tackle on Martin Odegaard!

The referees are under criticism on the islands

The Premier League has dealt more with refereeing than football in recent days. After last round’s showdown between Tottenham and Liverpool grossly affected the performance of the referees, an avalanche of criticism has been unleashed in the English football environment.

In a match full of controversy, referee Simon Hooper pulled out two red cards and VAR additionally called off Luis Díaz’s goal. Coach Jürgen Klopp complained about Diogo Jota’s sending off directly after the loss.

“Diogo Jota was given two yellow cards for not touching a player even once, ” the German manager raged at a press conference. He was then vindicated by the independent referees’ committee, which confirmed that Jota’s second yellow card should not have been a penalty and that VAR had also made a mistake on Díaz’s goal.

Another incident was the responsibility of Kovacic, whose destructive tackle was only awarded a yellow card by referee Oliver

And it is the referees who are also the main focus of this weekend’s Premier League eighth round showpiece. In it, Arsenal welcomed Manchester City to their Emirates Stadium in a battle for the top of the table and the match was affected by another controversial moment.

In the 29th minute, in fact, Mateo Kovacic took a very sharp tackle on Martin Odegaard and referee Michael Oliver only awarded a yellow card for the devastating intervention from behind on the standing leg. Even VAR, which examined the verdict, did not react to the decision but gave the 38-year-old referee the right decision.

With a wink of an eye, one could argue over the yellow card, however, the Croatian midfielder also roughly tackled Declan Rice just five minutes later. Although the referee stood close to the incident, the harsh tackle did not result in another card for Kovacic.

Of course, the aforementioned tackles immediately started to be discussed on social media and fans and pundits alike agreed that Kovacic definitely should not have finished the match.

Arsenal, however, may not be too sorry about referee Oliver’s mistake. Three minutes before the end, Martinelli’s only goal of the match decided the north London side to close the gap on leaders Tottenham. Coach Arteta celebrated his first league win against Pep Guardiola.

Source: Premier League, ESPN, Twitter/X