Referee Insight: Mark Halsey Claims Kovacic Should Have Been Sent Off vs Arsenal! 🟥⚽️

Arteta's Arsenal beat Guardiola's Man City 1-0 yesterday in the Premier League. talkSPORT's Ally McCoist and Andy Townsend have their say alongside Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey!
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[@paulcasey4282]

I don’t think there’s a single person who thinks Kovacic shouldn’t have been sent off

[@jamaali2358]

The Ref?

[@vincenzodemiceli9250]

@@jamaali2358😂😂😂

[@jefepeeps4308]

The UAE who bribed the ref

[@mikem8211]

​@@jefepeeps4308Abu Dhabi mate UAE sponsor us 😂

[@paulcasey4282]

@@jamaali2358 If he was to look back on it and take his time, even he would realise he made a mistake

[@daviel1005]

I don't understand why it's up to the VAR guy to decide even if the referee is allowed to look at a replay. The protocols are a mess. If there is any doubt at all the referee should be going to the monitor and making his own mind up.

[@philanderphillips2309]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

[@nickchemist723]

What happens when VAR tells a ref to come looks at the monitor and the ref refuses to do so though ? Cause that’s what actually happened yesterday apparently

[@NicholasJ-]

What do ù mean u understand y Kovacic didn't get a red card after the first challenge??r u all serious??🤬🤬

[@TDI279]

I don't get something. Grealish and Akanji are on the bench but Pep doesn't bring them on and instead brings on Nunes and Doku 🤔

[@Bushwacker-mb6hw]

100% sending off disgusting referring yet again

[@ericedudzi6267]

This same Refree , Last season Wolverhampton Wondres Against Arsenal, he gave Matineli a very dubious red a dabble quik yellow cards ...but today he is not doing same even under a reckless tackles....Shame..

[@Martin36544]

It can’t be right that two weeks ago the ref is being paid to officiate in the home country of City’s owners. Where is would that be acceptable?

[@michealkwanaite1408]

Pep wouldn't take him out because he knew the referees wouldn't give him the second card.

[@ranniely]

This is why u have millions in the game, so mafia can money launder, politcs can play their bread&games game, slaves are arguing about sports&decisions they can not understand, made by referees ... and english referees are overhyped even with var ... no excuse for Liverpool referee shame, and no excuses for Kovacic not getting red. Just money money money, pocket money, no one can prove them wrong. Shitshow of a game, even tho arsenal won and its bright - footbal has lost nowadays

[@PeterMacland]

Oliver gave Martinelli 2 yellows in the same play last season...

[@Cbart23]

Shocking.

[@DiReal_Donclassy]

Michael Oliver's decision to ignore the secomd yellow card was borne out of arrogance, 'You can't tell me what to do'

[@nickchemist723]

No it was borne out of “ man city owners pay my wages “ pure corruption . Call it what it is

[@pataleno]

When you look what Jota got sent off for there is a clear discrepancy between what is a yellow card and what isn’t. Absolute shocking.

[@evanfox4204]

Yeah - Tomi also got sent off this year for bullshit

[@Ledanielooo]

Apparently VAR told Michale Olivier to go review the challenge and he refused. Cant wait for that audio!

[@DavieBee1988]

we will never hear that audio

[@pistonfan11]

Lol every single week “oh well we are human and not perfect”, can we get ONE weekend without multiple howlers? This idea that people are asking for perfection is ridiculous people are asking for basic competency & some of these decisions lately have been completely obvious to anyone & everyone.

[@Sa1iba2-m8m]

If you regard michael oliver as the leagues best referee then the bar is ASTONISHINGLY LOW! 🙄 The man is CLEARLY anti Arsenal and this game is NOT the first time, how can you give Martinelli two NONSENSE yellow cards and send him off and then DEFEND two AWFUL tackles and Kovacic stays on! There’s something NOT RIGHT there! 😡

[@borndorminant2701]

Hahahaaa... You will never hear the media talk about that.😂😂

[@DrMattiLabbratt]

If he’s the best then they need to scrap it and start again!!

[@oba-one]

To be honest, he's not anti Arsenal. I'm an Arsenal fan, and I do believe he's the best EPL ref. Yes, I remember the Martinelli incident. He's made a wrong decision which is shocking. All I know is that a solution to reduce these errors must be made so we can enjoy football without talking about referees every week

[@thewengerinn5555]

The first tackle, in 2023, has to be a straight red. Ive seen that given as a red card 20 years ago ffs

[@philanderphillips2309]

Agreed

[@thewengerinn5555]

The comical thing is if he breaks Odegaards ankle- which couldve easily happened....the ref gives a red and everyone would be up in arms about how bad a tackle it was. How VAR doesnt deem it as a potential red card, especially after the liverpool one is quite unbelievable. The refereeing system in England is not fit for purpose.

[@philanderphillips2309]

@@thewengerinn5555 This VAR / officiating rubbish is staining the game, irregardless of which team you support. This is NOT SUSTAINABLE. This stained the Arsenal game yesterday.

[@naifalotaibi7213]

Tackle from behind is red since the 90s… even if you are going for the ball… kova was late and nowhere near the ball

[@chidiuko2763]

Michael Oliver has a fear for Pep Guardiola just as they had for Ferguson. If that was an Arsenal player or a player from any smaller club, that would have been a straight red. Most of the refs are prejudiced towards particles and coaches.

[@philanderphillips2309]

I couldn’t agree more.

[@slinkiegirl2001]

howard web was a dodgy ref, he gave utd points, i swear he was a utd fan and he was in awe of fergie, glad he is gone

[@thetopfootycoach]

Michael Oliver was in the UAE a week ago...

[@thesnail2365]

I’m sure Oliver give martinelli a double yellow card against wolves

[@dontbewoke]

Halsey said Oliver was easily the best ref in the country last week and yet thats a decision thats frankly unfathomable ; our refs are a joke

[@philanderphillips2309]

Dave Chappelle level jokes……

[@emmanuel4989]

If Oliver is the best we've got then we're all screwed because he's crap too. He absolutely bottled that decision not to send Kovatic off on 2 separate occasions.

[@thetopfootycoach]

The PGMOL rely on apathy and tribalism to make sure their decisions are not scrutinised too much. Man Utd fans won't support Klopp complaining, Chelsea fans won't support Arteta complaining, one fan will say well we had this decision go against us so you know what - suck it up. A few weeks later that fan will be complaining about a bad decision and the fan he told to suck it up will repeat the same, just a feedback loop that helps the refs. The referees have all the tools they need (unlike at lower levels) not to mess up, it's a billion pound business, we should all be asking for competence.

[@redshift8302]

They not only get the benefit of no having all fans scrutinising him, but they even get active support from rival fans. Man Utd, Everton fans would have lauded oliver if he made a decision like the one under the spotlight, re Kovacic, on the last day of the season and City win the league by one point over Liverpool.

[@peterpapers5419]

Last week Jota got 2yellows for Almost touching the Spurs guy!! What's going on?

[@mr.sushi2221]

Watching the game live I was sooo surprised var didn’t even look at both of them. They were both borderline red’s. He was late and studs up both times.

[@jefepeeps4308]

Is anyone truly surprised when it comes to City? They get away with everything

[@CROSSNSHOOT]

Michael Oliver must be very rich man with some of those dubious decisions!!

[@slinkiegirl2001]

he is in the pockets of sheik monsoor and bin salaman

[@cj_thegamergoon1201]

Ban him for 3 games then ? Once again another talking point about another poor decision made by VAR and the refs 🤦‍♂️

[@CharlieRunning1992]

Glad he didnt get sent off - We beat them with 11 men - Imagine after the game beating them with 10 men, KDB out, Rodri out - F*ck City!

[@Goona187]

Oliver was paid £20,000 to ref a game in dubia8n mid week by none other than the owner of man city ???WTF 😮

[@hpk3727]

It was the same exact Ref who gave Martinelli a red card for two fouls in the same sequence in feb 2022 against Palace but somehow this time around he wasn’t able to make the same decision?

[@gcgcgcg]

Every week, at least one match has at least one botched call. Usual on the weeks best games. It's ridiculous. They need to overhaul the whole system

[@Goona187]

Why is no one talking about this referee being paid 20,000 midweek in dubai by the sheikh that owns man city , to ref a game over there

[@jacobjacob3133]

This is the same man that gave Martinelli 2 yellows in 10s a couple seasons ago.He is just arrogant .

[@Cbart23]

Should have been sent off. Glad he didn’t. Don’t give them the excuse.

[@ajc1482]

Well we all know a wrong VAR decision means the match needs to be replayed.

[@neilfitzsimmons1800]

And last week VAR paused the still so the ref could send off Curtis. Yet this doesn't get reviewed. Corruption again. Funny how City get all the help they need to win trophies. While their direct competitors get punished consistently.

[@heenalp77]

it did get reviewed by the VAR team, but for some reason they didn't call him over to have a look at the monitor.

[@jamesrawl3648]

Money talks

[@nickchemist723]

@heenlap even worse . VAR actually did call him over apparently and Oliver refused to come look at it again ….

[@jahnoscarstaff2689]

Blatant red on the first challenge! Studs showing all the way, from behind, with force, and on the ancle. If that's not endangering the player I dont know what is. Second one, studs showing as well and connects with Rice. A clear second yellow all day everyday! Such a poor referee decision that will impact the title race by not giving Kovacic a 3 or 4 game suspension. Has the title been given to City already?

[@nvel0027]

i would say more first red than 2nd yellow. Proper ankle breaker and career ending tackle

[@SuperArsenal4444]

Michael is not your best referee what a load of crap

[@garywallace5602]

Can us fans give all VAR officials the red card please? Or is it like all VAR protocol...the wrong decision?

[@lenworth11]

City are 'always lucky' ... why is that??

[@GermanChickenwing]

This is the problem i have with rival fans and the media.. Where was all this noise last weeks when City lost to a guy who should have never been on the pitch? Of cause none because is City..

[@philanderphillips2309]

I am a fan of all teams when it comes to officiating. I was a Liverpool supporter last week, Arsenal supporter yesterday, and will be a supporter of Luton if and when they get screwed. This VAR / Referee tandem has to be figured out.

[@revilo9725]

Victim mentality

[@redshift8302]

Because they more often than not get decisions going their way. rodri can even get away in playing basket ball in the penalty box.

[@GermanChickenwing]

@@redshift8302 Can you name 5 bad calls in favour of City for the past 5 years?

[@GermanChickenwing]

@@revilo9725 Victim mentality? Dude i am not a Liverpool fan

[@MaximilianXXX]

Michael Oliver bottled it. Nearly everyone to a man (pundits, ex-refs) think Kovacic should have been sent off. Oliver did not have the guts to make a big correct decision that he knew would influence the outcome of the match.

[@nickchemist723]

VAR told him to come look at the monitor and he refused ….

[@DrMattiLabbratt]

@@nickchemist723I didn’t know that? I thought that VAR couldn’t interfere in second yellow cards? (I think that they SHOULD btw)

[@MattitudePlays]

We won which was justice served but it's not enough. I demand that PGMOL explain themselves. I demand that someone loses their job or gets fined. I stand with Liverpool and I stand with Man United and any team that has had SHOCKING decisions thrown against them. This is OUR game, not the refs. They need to learn their place which is to shut up, let the game flow and intervene appropriately and with necessity. If PGMOL don't apologise by tomorrow it shows their true colours - a bold shade of corrupt and a pale shade of incompetence. PGMOL is NOT fit to ref prem games.

[@deppresedonion6320]

Every game except Arsenal v City was decided by a ref yesterday Watkins shouldve had a spot-kick . Brighton should have had spot-kick if not for handball then for the foul before the handball . Newcastle shouldve had a player sent and the freekick for Newcastles first goal was a disgrace 50/50 all the way . How Citys player didnt go in the first half is beyond me be but luckley Arsenal won the other 3 were not so lucky. Var needs a massive overhaul and they need to come up with some solution on the international break and then a total revamp in the summer it cant go on .

[@philanderphillips2309]

Appreciate your commentary. The shoddy, grotty officiating is ruining the game.

[@SBandy]

Brighton should have had a player sent off for hauling down the Liverpool player. There's was never a handball.

[@DiReal_Donclassy]

Handball in Brighton- Liverpool game?? When?? How?? Did you watch another game? There was nothing like that. What we saw was a Brighton defender who should have sent off for stopping a goal opportunity without aiming at kicking the ball. It is a straight red card that was never given a thought

[@KopJustin]

Pascal Gross should have been sent off ..apparently he survived the game somehow

[@slinkiegirl2001]

that ref Oliver was in the UAE recently i reckon he is a brought and paid for ref when it comes to newcastle and city SACK HIM NOW

[@saragonmcenany6229]

Retrospective red card. Result stands

[@paulrickett4402]

Corruption. Incompetence. That ref was in Qatar refing a game for the same people who own city. Enough said.

[@Thespacecadet187]

Oliver said, and I quote... ' didn't want to have a negative impact on the game'..... Now if you can't see that for what it is, total and absolute corruption, then there is no hope. He admits it, like Dean, and the says.... SORRY... and it's all ok, but PGMOL by way of VAR are making a fool of all football fans and a mockery of football. It's beyond obvious that these Talksport lads have a script to back VAR.... If McCoist says the first tackle is not a red .....showed your hand there you fool .... Football died on the 30th September

[@herculesthepower1544]

If this incident would have happened by other countries especial Africa and Asia 😮 We wouldn't have hear the end of it. Glad it happened there though im Arsenal fan i was really pits off by the referee and VAR decision. They are no different with us third world countries, with all technologies they have but still poor decisions. No wonder in World cup and uefa we don't see many of uk's referees. They are no good.

[@barryh.4220]

Pep SHOULD have replaced him at half time, but didn't ... it wasn't even as if Kovacic was making a positive impression on the pitch , and he was also running a tightrope with his booking.

[@lenworth11]

We all make money talking .. less talking & more rational thinking.. Kovacic was clearly out to hurt in his tackles ... that's not football !!

[@danoku5582]

This same Ref awarded red card to Martinelli for run of play but refused to give a red card for two dangerous red card independent fouls🤔

[@wills.1978]

dubai-owned michael oliver tried his best for his city overlords but it wasn't enough

[@trevorkeating229]

How could you understand stat he stayed on the pitch after the first one ally? It was a clear red?

[@DiReal_Donclassy]

If a goal was known by VAR to be a good goal and was reminded to communicate his decision to the ground refree, but deliberately unilaterally went ahead to chalk it off, the only sensible thing is to replay such game

[@dr7027]

Best referee?!!!!!! Well that says a lot 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DrMattiLabbratt]

I think Howard Webb’s time is Up

[@lenworth11]

United are always lucky ... why is that??

[@nickchemist723]

Pep didn’t need to take him off . He knew that UAE had recently paid Oliver and no matter what any of his players did none would see red

[@JosephA-y8w]

ALL THESES OFFICIALS SHOULD BE SACKED FULL STOP

[@Boombastic..]

VAR is back again back to back spotlight

[@everybodyhatesharlesden2589]

Micheal Oliver needs the sack

[@alexhaynes7220]

He should of been sent off

[@SeriousBartYT]

Why didn't they mention United's burgeoning injury list when they lost to Arsenal in stoppage time ? Didn't they just like pile in on Ten Hag ?

[@matthewmiles9626]

You'd think pep would know the player better than some old guy that used to blow a whistle.

[@AliG-ef9jh]

Frauds

[@dnc9952]

I’m surprised we bought Kovacic, not been impressed by him

[@SJ-li6ho]

Sent off twice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@eL--RaL]

As a City fan, i absolutely agree.. Kovacic should have been sent off so the game should 💯 be replayed.. Thanks Klopp ✌️

[@Anglo-Saxon-Patriot]

Hahaha, you really want to lose again?

[@MattitudePlays]

Saliba will body Haaland again 😂 bring on a rematch.

[@markcorbin5670]

M. Oliver is a disgrace, he hates Arsenal. Gives Martinelli two yellows within 10 seconds. But doesn't give kovatic a second yellow. 🤬

[@Adam-ui4ef]

Oliver enjoying his midweek UAE trips a little too much. Its effecting his integrity as he wants to keep getting invited back.

[@eL--RaL]

If Arsenal fans wants a replay, we'll gladly give it to them..Let us replay it for Justice ⚖️ Let's uphold the law and the safety of the universe 🙏

[@JamieJackson-d4i]

No replay just ban Kovatic🤷🏽‍♂️

[@voight-kampff3611]

... and the glory of the oligarchs!

[@GermanChickenwing]

​@@FmfcgTalk again come may

[@slinkiegirl2001]

i would we have nothing to fear city is on the ropes anyway

[@TheRobotsWillEatYou]

you want to see Haaland do f all for 180mins instead of just 90? Interesting.

[@docholiday-lm4vf]

City get all the big decisions gonthere way while liverpool and now arsenal suffer