Declan Rice left speechless as Arsenal star controversially sent off with Piers Morgan slamming ‘worst red card ever’

DECLAN RICE was left gobsmacked after being controversially sent off in Arsenal's clash with Brighton.

The England international was booked in the first half for a wild lunge.

And an act of petulance just minutes after the restart saw referee Chris Kavanagh send him for an early bath.

Rice was shown a second yellow for kicking the ball away after Brighton were awarded a free kick in their half in the 49th minute.

He poked the ball with his foot a split second before Joel Veltman went to kick it up the park, with the Brighton player instead making contact with the Arsenal man.

Rice went down in agony and expected the Dutch defender to be given a yellow when he rose to his feet.

But Kavanagh stunned the Emirates faithful - and Rice - by opting to show the midfielder a second booking.

The former West Ham skipper couldn't believe it and was left speechless.

And he wasn't the only one baffled by Kavanagh's decision.

One Gunners fan wrote on X: "Joao Pedro kicks the ball away the first half and no yellow.

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"Rice gets sent off for the same offense after being on the receiving end of violent conduct."

Another said: "I saw Joao Pedro kick the ball away in the first half with everyone shouting for it and the ref ignoring.

"Declan Rice has just been sent off for tapping it in the 2nd half."

And another said: "How does Declan Rice get a red card for getting kicked????"

One remarked: "A Brighton player booted the ball 30 yards after giving away a throw-in.

";Nothing. Declan Rice taps the ball one yard and gets booted in the process. Second yellow card."

Fuming Piers

Gunners superfan and Sun columnist Piers Morgan was also left flabbergasted by the decision

He wrote: "What the f*ck was that?

"Declan Rice sent off for being kicked to pieces? Worst red card decision I’ve ever seen."

Sometime late Piers was still not over the incident.

He tweeted: "Still absolutely fuming about this.. Declan Rice sent off for being brutally kicked from behind.

"Not an exaggeration to say this was the worst red card decision in the history of professional football."

Things went from bad to worse for the Gunners nine minutes later when Pedro levelled the scores with a tap-in inside the 18-yard box.

The second half proved to be a pulsating one, although neither side was able to find a winner and the score remained 1-1.

Rice's act of stupidity will see him miss the North London derby against Tottenham a fortnight on Sunday.

Arteta's take

Arsenal manager Arteta commented on the consistency of officiating in the game.

He said: "The decision changes the game completely.

"If it happens throughout the game in a consistent way then that’s fine but it didn’t happen.

"In the first half there were a number of occasions where they kicked the ball away and nothing happened. It’s inconsistency.

"Especially because it’s in an area that’s not critical. You made that call then you have to give a red card.

"We had to play with 10. If we had to play with 10 then they had to play with 10 because it’s a red card for Veltman."

When pressed on whether he had been given an explanation for Rice's sending off, he added: "No, none - like always."

Pedro was eventually booked in the 96th minute after remonstrating with Kavanagh.