Gary Neville believes Takehiro Tomiyasu’s sending off during Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Crystal palace will have ‘big’ implications on time wasting for players within the Premier League, more so than adding on additional stoppage time.
Mikel Arteta’s side secured a hard-fought three points at Selhurst Park on Monday night, with Martin Odegaard scoring from the spot in the second-half to help the Gunners secure their second victory of the new Premier League season.
But they had to work hard for the win, with the north London outfit being reduced to ten men in the second half, with Tomiyasu being shown two yellow cards within the space of seven minutes.
The first booking stoked a discussion on Monday Night Football between Neville, Jamie Carragher and Karen Carney, with the referee adjudging that the 24-year-old took too long to take a throw-in and penalised him for time wasting.
Referees are being encouraged to clamp down on players taking minutes out of the game as part of a new directive being implemented across the English football leagues this season.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (second from left) was sent off during Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Crystal Palace
He was shown a two yellow cards, but was booked initially for time wasting amid the Premier League’s new crack down
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville (pictured) believes the decision will have more impact on players than adding more minutes in injury time, with players less likely to waste time for fear of a booking
Officials have been adding upwards of 10 minutes to some games around the EFL and Premier League in the last two weeks as they look to cut out the amount of time wasted in games.
Speaking on the first card, the former Manchester United defender, Neville, believes that the threat of receiving a booking or a sending off may be a greater deterrent to time wasting than adding more minutes on to the end of the match.
‘What I would say of the first yellow is I went to see Howard Webb a couple of weeks ago and we said the existing laws within the game cater to be able to stop time wasting and that’s called a yellow card and would lead to a red card,’ Neville told Sky Sports.
‘I think if players are starting to get sent off, this one [Tomiyasu’s second yellow] is always going to be a yellow card.
‘But if you’ve got defenders or other players on the pitch that are wasting time – you’re going to get booked.
‘This will have a bigger impact tonight, this sending off, on time wasting for players than it will be adding 15 minutes on at the end.’
Tomiyasu subsequently seemed to pull down Jordan Ayew on the 67th minute and referee David Coote subsequently delivered the Gunners full-back his second yellow card of the match and his marching orders.
On commentary, Alan Smith at the time called the decision ‘very harsh’ and Jamie Carragher, in the studio after the game, concurred that he too felt sorry for the Japan international.
He noted in particular that Coote had, in the build up to Tomiyasu’s first yellow, warned Thomas Partey to stop slowing the game down.
Equally, Kai Havertz had picked up the ball to take the throw in and spent several moments contemplating who to throw it to, before passing it on to the full-back.
‘The rule is there, we know what it is,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
Tomiyasu (left) was shown his second yellow card of the night just seven minutes later, after he pulled down Jordan Ayew (right)
![Jamie Carragher added that Mikel Arteta may 'feel an injustice' but added that it was 'the right decision to send him [Tomiyasu] off'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/08/22/00/74574245-0-image-a-17_1692660350023.jpg)
Jamie Carragher added that Mikel Arteta may ‘feel an injustice’ but added that it was ‘the right decision to send him [Tomiyasu] off’
‘I said I felt a little bit unfortunate for Tomiyasu because he took one for the team. It was almost Partey then Havertz, it was almost a yellow card for the team’s time wasting, and they had to give it to someone.
‘He got it. You almost feel its an injustice when you’ve had a man sent off [referring to Arteta], a little bit of a siege mentality. But it was the right decision to send him off.
‘He took one initially, the pull back when you’re on a yellow card. Yeah, he had to go for that. It seemed a bit soft, because it wasn’t the biggest pull but once you’re on a yellow card, he has to go off for that. I don’t think you can look at the referee and say that he got it wrong.
Speaking on the card, Arteta said: ‘The new rules is one thing. The new rules that I don’t know where they are. That’s something very different. But we will adapt. Today we had to win it in this context and we got it done.’
