Andre Marriner said he was wrong to
send Kieran Gibbs off as it was a case of mistaken identity - replays
confirmed what most observers saw at full speed as Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain was the Arsenal man who handled the ball.
However,
with the ball seemingly going wide I do not think either player should
have been dismissed as there was no denial of an obvious goalscoring
opportunity.
Admission: Oxlade-Chamberlain even approached Marriner to tell him it was he who handled the ball
Why me? Gibbs looks frustrated as he departs the pitch after being sent off
Stand-in keeper: Chamberlain dived to his right and got the faintest of touches on the ball
Marriner did well to detect the devious handball as Oxlade-Chamberlain dived full length and tried to head the ball.
He
stated that it was his decision and his alone and while I would accept
that from where assistant Marc Perry was standing it was very difficult
to see the handball I would expect him to keep his eye on the player and
let the referee know who it was to ensure the correct player was
dismissed.
It was good to
see that Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted to Marriner that he had handled the
ball in an attempt to get the Midlands referee to change the red card
shown wrongly to Gibbs, but unless one of the other officials tells the
referee of his error he will stick to the original decision.
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