In their upcoming meeting with PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited), Arsenal is preparing to present a comprehensive list of VAR decisions that have gone against them over the past 18 months.
This move comes in the wake of the controversy stemming from their recent contentious defeat at the hands of Newcastle, which has left the Gunners at odds with match officials.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, is facing potential repercussions after his outspoken criticism of the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s disputed winning goal and his clear frustration with the lack of a red card for Bruno Guimaraes following an altercation with Jorginho.
Arsenal has strongly supported their manager’s stance with a strongly worded statement, expressing their dissatisfaction with the quality of officiating and VAR decisions. The club is bracing for potential consequences in the next 48 hours.
The statement issued by Arsenal reads, “Arsenal Football Club totally endorses Mikel Arteta’s post-match statements following yet more inexcusable officiating and VAR blunders on Saturday evening. We’d also want to thank our players and traveling supporters for their tremendous effort and performance at St James’ Park.”
Continuing their stance on officiating, the statement adds, “The Premier League is the finest league in the world, with the top players, managers, and fans who all deserve more.
PGMOL must address the level of officiating immediately and focus on action that pushes us all forward from retroactive analysis, attempted explanations, and apologies.
We applaud the continued efforts of Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb and would welcome the opportunity to collaborate in order to reach the world-class officiating standards that our league requires.”
According to the Daily Mail, PGMOL is not receptive to Arsenal’s complaints and views their response as overly harsh, with no intention to provide a public response.
Arsenal is unwavering in their stance that the issue at Newcastle was not an isolated incident but part of a larger pattern.
They intend to reference a series of judgments dating back to the previous season in their next meeting with PGMOL, presenting them as evidence of what they see as a clear trend of unfavorable decisions.
Among Arsenal’s grievances are the disallowed goal by Gabriel Martinelli at Old Trafford, attributed to a minor foul by Martin Odegaard on Christian Eriksen near the halfway line, and Lee Mason’s failure to use VAR to review Ivan Toney’s equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Brentford.
Arsenal will also highlight Mateo Kovacic’s avoidance of a red card during a recent match against them as an example of questionable officiating. The Manchester City midfielder was let off the hook despite committing two cautionable offenses in quick succession.
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