Baffled Arsenal fans asked ‘where’s the letter of the law now’ as Dominik Szoboszlai avoided a red card against Nottingham Forest.
Gunners fans were left furious when midfielder Declan Rice was given a second yellow in their clash against Brighton before the international break, which they went on to draw 1-1 having been ahead when the incident occurred.
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Rice, already on a booking, had been deemed to have kicked the ball away as Joel Veltman attempted to take a free-kick.
As a result, Rice was given his marching orders – much to his shock – with the England international later claiming he ‘took a touch with the outside of his boot’.
Many who believe Rice was correctly dismissed have pointed to the officials going by ‘the letter of the law’.
Fuming Gooners then blew their tops, along with Bukayo Saka and Mikel Arteta, after watching a replay from earlier in the game, where Brighton striker Joao Pedro avoided a booking for the exact same thing.
And now, Arsenal fans have spotted a moment in another Premier League fixture that has seen a different star not punished in the same way for what they believe to be a ‘worse’ incident.
Liverpool lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, and as the clock ran down in added-time at Anfield, Szoboszlai fouled goalscorer Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Already on a booking, the Hungarian booted the ball across the pitch as the referee called for a foul.
However, he didn’t receive the same treatment as Rice, despite arguably being far more purposeful with kicking the ball away and wasting time.
The game continued without him going into the referees book, thus seeing him avoid a red.
And Arsenal fans aren’t impressed.
One fan on X wrote: “How does Szoboszlai get away with this, when Rice gets a yellow? It’s b*******!!!!”
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“This is 15x worse than whatever Rice did man,” a second said. “Where’s the letter of the law for Szoboszlai?”
A third wrote: “This is astonishing. Szoboszlai is on a yellow and kicks the ball across the pitch after the referee clearly called foul.
“No second yellow. Rice was sent off for less.”
Arsenal will be without Rice for the north London derby against fierce rivals Tottenham on Sunday due to his red card, as he serves a one-match ban.
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