Football
Matthew Upson Says Trossard Didn’t Intentionally Delay The Restart Following Red Card vs Manchester City
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished11 hours ago on September 23, 2024
Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard was shown a red card for delaying the restart against Manchester City on Sunday, but former England defender Matthew Upson doesn’t believe the Belgian did so intentionally.
For the second time this season, Arsenal were shown a red card after one of their players was deemed to have delayed the restart by kicking the ball away, with Leandro Trossard being shown a second yellow card against Manchester City on Sunday.
Already on a yellow, Trossard gave away a free kick after colliding with City midfielder Bernardo Silva just before the half-time break and proceeded to boot the ball away after Michael Oliver had blown his whistle.
This left the on-field referee no other recourse but to show Trossard a second yellow card, which came just three weeks after Declan Rice was given his marching orders for committing the same offence against Brighton at the Emirates.
Was Michael Oliver right to send Leandro Trossard off? And should Jeremy Doku have seen yellow too? 🟨
Ref Watch take a closer look 🔎 pic.twitter.com/stNMNwzTJn
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 23, 2024
Trossard’s dismissal was met by disbelief from Gunners manager Mikel Arteta, who was left frustrated by the decision come the full-time whistle, stating: “It is obvious what happened when they made that decision, but it doesn’t deserve my comment. I don’t want to ruin anything else off the pitch.”
Arsenal led 2-1 at the time of the red card but ended up drawing the match in heartbreaking fashion as second-half substitute John Stones drew the hosts level after 98 minutes of play.
Upson on Trossard Red Card: “I Don’t Think It Was Intentional”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live on their breakfast show on Monday morning, former West Ham captain and England international Matthew Upson had his say on the red card and claimed that Trossard delaying the restart ‘wasn’t intentional’.
“Interpretation is difficult at the time and I understand the law. The Declan Rice one, he intentionally tries to delay the restart.
“Trossard wasn’t doing that for me. It was a player that had fouled and then you’re running towards the ball, you’ve heard the whistle, you’re in that zone and he does partially pull out of kicking the ball away. I don’t think it was an intentional [action].
“The Doku one I think was a deliberate way of kicking the ball away in the first half, and that went unpunished. From Arsenal’s perspective, to have two this season that have then ended up seeing them drop two points in both games, being punished for the same thing [is tough].”
Luckily for Arsenal, Trossard will only serve a one-match suspension due to his sending off being a second yellow card.
This leaves the Belgian ruled out of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup clash against Bolton Wanderers, for which some of the UK’s best football betting sites have the Gunners as 1/9 favourites to win.