Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler believes Declan Rice deserved to be sent off during the draw with Arsenal on Saturday.
The England midfielder’s first-ever Premier League red card was the major talking point from a dramatic Premier League showdown between two in-form teams at the Emirates Stadium that eventually finished 1-1.
Rice was shown a second yellow by referee Chris Kavanagh in initially confusing and bizarre scenes just four minutes after the interval in north London, having been adjudged to have delayed Brighton restarting the game following his foul on Joel Veltman after appearing to flick the ball away before the Dutch defender could connect with a quick free-kick.
Veltman followed through into Rice with the ball gone and clattered into his leg, with most home fans then expecting the Brighton stalwart to be the man punished before a stunned and angry reaction greeted the dismissal of Rice.
A frustrated Mikel Arteta admitted afterwards that the sending off could probably be justified by the letter of the law, but questioned why Veltman was not also sent off and indeed why Brighton forward Joao Pedro avoided punishment for booting the ball away in the first half after he had failed to keep it in play near the dugout.
However, opposite number Hurzeler has dismissed those protests, insisting Rice - who was initially booked in the first half for a challenge on Veltman - deserved his dismissal and stating that the two situations could not be compared.
"For me, clear red card. He shoots the ball away. It is wasting time," Hurzeler said.
"I think there are no two opinions. You can't compare I think these two situations. The first with Joel, it is clear. It is a free-kick so it is a static situation.
"The other is much more like a dynamic situation. It was not even clear out (of play), so he tried to keep the ball in the game. Please, never compare these two situations because in football two situations never are the same. We can’t compare these situations."
