Arsenal fans were outraged by referee Michael Oliver’s decision to send off defender Myles Lewis-Skelly during Saturday’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The 18-year-old fullback was shown a red card just before halftime for tripping Wolves defender Matt Doherty near the edge of Arsenal’s box as he attempted to launch a counterattack following an Arsenal corner.
The Premier League's Match Centre has confirmed the straight red card was for "serious foul play."
On serious foul play, the Premier League website reads, "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play."
If the contact is deemed to be "forceful" and either on the ankle or above, it should be a red card, the site states.
#WOLARS – 43’
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) January 25, 2025
The referee’s call of a red card for Lewis-Skelly was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed his challenge to have been serious foul play.
While Lewis-Skelly's foul on Doherty was both forceful and on the ankle, the decision has sparked uproar among Arsenal fans, many of whom consider it harsh, especially considering the distance the Irishman was from goal.
FFS… another absolutely ridiculous red card. Lewis-Skelly sent off for a trip, just a nonsense decision. 🤬🤬
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 25, 2025
One fan said: "I think that red card for Lewis-Skelly is the worst decision I’ve ever witnessed at a football stadium. I'm completely baffled."
Finally seen a replay. That is an absolute shocker from Michael Oliver. It's just a fraction of a second decision from Lewis-Skelly to stop a counter attack. The type of thing you see time and time again. Yellow card, no-one says another word about it.
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) January 25, 2025
Red card is absolutely… https://t.co/bLDMw06yQs
Not everyone agrees that Lewis-Skelly's sending off was the wrong, however.
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha, now a pundit for Final Score, said he understands why the youngster was shown a red card for his challenge.
"It's not definitely a red card for me. I can see now with more replays why it is the right thing to do," he said. "Maybe the referee sees that Myles Lewis-Skelly has no intent to play the ball.
"It's a tough moment for Arsenal. For the youngster, I think he needs to understand there are different ways to do that."
READ THE LATEST ARSENAL NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Fans Outraged by Myles Lewis-Skelly's Controversial Red Card vs. Wolves.
