Several Arsenal players and fans were left puzzled on Sunday evening when Erling Haaland avoided punishment towards the end of the Gunners’ 2-2 draw in their Premier League clash away at Manchester City. The league’s leading goalscorer was caught throwing the ball at Gabriel Jesus’ head following the 98th-minute equaliser.
Sunday’s clash between the two Premier League titans was a game of fine margins, with Pep Guardiola’s side leaving it late to restore parity. After a first half that saw goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel following Haaland’s opener, the match was overshadowed by Leandro Trossard’s dismissal just before the break.
While a second sending off – this time for Haaland – would unlikely have altered the full-time result, it would still have been a significant blow for Man City and a major boost for Arsenal. The four-time reigning champions are already missing key players, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. However, VAR expert Dale Johnson has now explained why the Norwegian striker wasn’t shown a red card.
Why Haaland Avoided Red Card
VAR expert Dale Johnson explains the situation
Writing in his ‘VAR Review’ column for ESPN, Johnson explained:
“It’s petulant, but the suggestion we should be seeing VAR red cards for this is wide of the mark. It was looked at by Brooks but not deemed to be an act of violent conduct.”
He added: “We see players kick and throw the ball at opponents regularly but they are never sent off for it. That’s not to say you couldn’t argue the case within the law, but Haaland would really have had to throw the ball with far more force or brutality for the VAR to consider this to be a red card — but the City striker would have been booked had the on-field officials seen it.
“As the VAR looked at it there can be no retrospective action, not that it would have reached the threshold for a charge. Although the possibility of retrospective action still exists, VAR means the chances of an incident not being looked at by any of the officials are extremely slim. So, as a consequence, it doesn’t happen anymore.”
Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed that no retrospective action will be taken against Haaland for throwing the ball at Gabriel’s head. Guardiola and his coaching staff will be breathing a sigh of relief.
It was a landmark day for the goalscoring machine
Controversy aside, Sunday proved to be yet another red-letter day for Haaland. Scoring his 100th club goal since joining Man City in 2022, the 24-year-old hit the milestone in just 105 games. Arguably, too, it couldn’t have been achieved in a more high-pressure situation.
Another record the Norwegian chalk horse shattered over the weekend was becoming the fastest player to reach 10 goals in a Premier League season. Following hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham, he accomplished this incredible feat in just five matches, surpassing the previous record held by Mick Quinn of Coventry City – a record City’s talisman had already equalled last season.
