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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Why Anthony Taylor didn't send off Caglar Soyuncu in Arsenal vs Leicester despite handball

Caglar Soyuncu wasn't sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity in Arsenal vs Leicester on Sunday.

Instead, referee Anthony Taylor issued the defender a yellow card because his teammate, Luke Thomas, was deemed to be in a suitable position to clear Thomas Partey's headed effort away from goal.

The infringement was originally waved away by Taylor, but after visiting the pitch side monitor following advice from the VAR officials, he eventually awarded a penalty to Arsenal.

Although Alexandre Lacazette stepped up to give the Gunners a 2-0 cushion going into the latter stages of the game, the home crowd believed that Soyuncu deserved harsher punishment for denying what looked to be a goal-bound header from Partey.

Taylor disagreed, however, as explained by Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler.

Commentating live, Tyler said: "Soyuncu was spared the dismissal with the fact that Luke Thomas was behind him."

Arsenal have had a number of decisions go against them this season and fans have often expressed their disappointment at the referees in question.

Luckily, the decision to let Soyuncu remain on the field didn't impact the end result, as the Gunners cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win.

Victory means they return to fourth in the Premier League table, one point ahead of closest top four rivals Manchester United whom Arsenal have three games in hand over.

They now host title challenging Liverpool on Wednesday night before travelling to Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa on Saturday, March 19.

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