'Make it make sense' – Arsenal fans in uproar again as Spurs star escapes red over eerily similar foul to William Saliba

10/27/2024 11:19 AM

Arsenal fans vented their fury once more after Tottenham defender Micky Van de Ven escaped a red card despite committing a foul as the last man.

Midway through the second half, Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta headed the ball into the path of Ismaila Sarr, who had to beat Van de Ven in a footrace to reach it.

But just as Sarr looked like he would get the ball first, Van de Ven brought him down from approximately 30 yards away from goal.

Despite being the last man and with no defenders around him, VAR opted not to look further into Van de Ven’s incident as he escaped with only a yellow card.

Although Tottenham still had 11 men on the pitch, it mattered little to the result as Palace secured their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory – Mateta scoring the winner on 31 minutes.

It didn’t take long for Arsenal supporters to weigh in on the matter given William Saliba was sent off for a similar foul against Bournemouth.

Saliba initially copped a yellow card when he hauled down Cherries striker Evanilson in the centre circle but the foul was soon upgraded to a red by VAR.

It meant the French superstar was ruled out of Arsenal’s crunch clash against Liverpool.

One fan wrote on X: “Make it make sense. William Saliba vs Micky Van de Ven. Inconsistency of decisions is embarrassing.”

Another posted: “So Van de Ven just did what Saliba did last week and got a yellow.”

One supporter said: “VAR changed Saliba’s to red card and left Van de Ven as a yellow, which one was closer to goal?”

Van de Ven’s contentious foul isn’t the only one that had Arsenal fans in uproar this season.

Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo produced a strikingly similar foul to Saliba’s during last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Liverpool.

Adarabioyo was caught out by a long ball over the top intended for Liverpool star Diogo Jota.

As Jota looked to breeze past, Adarabioyo got into a tangle with the Reds forward and brought him down to the ground just beyond the halfway line.

Despite the Chelsea centre-back being the last man, he escaped with only a yellow card from referee John Brooks.