Trossard Red Card was the Right Decision says Panel

Referee Michael Oliver made the correct decision to send off Leandro Trossard in Arsenal's 2-2 draw against Manchester City, according to the Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel. Trossard was dismissed during first-half injury time after kicking the ball away following a foul on Bernardo Silva.

This marked the second time this month that an Arsenal player was sent off for delaying the restart, following Declan Rice's dismissal in a 1-1 draw against Brighton. The KMI panel, which reviews key refereeing decisions weekly, stated, "Trossard clearly delays the restart by kicking the ball away."

However, the decision was not unanimous. One panelist believed that the "split-second nature of the kick" could be considered a mitigating factor.

At the time of the red card, Arsenal were leading 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium, but John Stones' equalizer in the 98th minute salvaged a point for City, putting them back at the top of the Premier League.

The KMI panel is an independent body made up of three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative, and a member from referees' body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

The panel also backed referee David Coote’s decision not to send off Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez for his tackle on Daichi Kamada during their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace. Martinez was booked for the two-footed challenge, and despite a VAR review, Coote was not asked to reassess the incident at the pitchside monitor.

The panel unanimously agreed, 5-0, with both the on-field and VAR decisions, noting that while the tackle was reckless, no contact was made. "Martinez is fortunate he didn't make contact with Kamada," the report stated, but added that "the challenge has no place on the pitch."

However, the decision to send off Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White in their 2-2 draw with Brighton was more contentious. The panel was split 3-2, with the majority believing referee Robert Jones was wrong to issue a second yellow card for Gibbs-White’s 83rd-minute challenge on Joao Pedro. Three panelists felt the challenge didn’t meet the threshold for a second caution, while two argued that "the intensity of the challenge was too high and reckless."

There was also disagreement over whether West Ham should have been awarded a penalty during their 3-0 defeat by Chelsea. Wesley Fofana's tackle on Crysencio Summerville went unpunished, and the panel was split 3-2, with the majority believing a penalty should have been given. The panel noted, "Summerville's wrist is held as he gets away from Fofana, impacting his progress toward the ball."

Although the majority supported a penalty call, VAR did not intervene, with four of the five panelists agreeing it was not a clear and obvious error. The Premier League Match Centre later stated that the incident involved "sustained holding."