Arsenal: Premier League explain why Declan Rice avoided a red card against Brighton | OneFootball

Arsenal midfielder avoided further punishment following his clash with Malick Yalcouye

Deep into second half stoppage time at the Amex Stadium, Rice appeared to clash with Malick Yalcouye as the Brighton substitute attempted to close him down.

Yalcouye leaned into the Arsenal midfielder after the ball had already been played and Rice reacted to being slightly nudged off balance by chasing after the 20-year-old.

Rice proceeded to trip up Yalcouye, sending him to the ground and potentially risked a red card for violent conduct for the off the ball incident that happened right in view of referee Darren England.

However, the official opted to show the England international a yellow card, a decision that has sparked a big debate among supporters on social media.

Though, as per talkSPORT, the Premier League have revealed that the incident was checked and cleared by VAR.

It is understood the VAR decided Rice’s actions did not meet the threshold for violent conduct, considering it to be petulant at best and therefore a yellow card was deemed the appropriate punishment.

Had Rice been shown a red card, he would have been hit with a three-match suspension, ruling him out of Premier League fixtures against Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Everton after the international break.

Yalcouye, ultimately, had the last laugh as the final whistle blew soon after to confirm Brighton as comfortable and deserved 3-0 winners over the defending Premier League champions.

Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas handed the Seagulls a 2-0 lead at half time, before Chema Andres headed in a third shortly before the hour mark after being left unmarked at the back post from a corner.