Arsenal: Gabriel Martinelli learns punishment decision for Conor Bradley push | OneFootball

Arsenal forward has escaped retrospective action

Gabriel Martinelli will not face any retrospective action for shoving Conor Bradley.

Martinelli has since apologised to Bradley for the push, which was branded as “disgraceful” by prominent pundits at the game, and claimed he did not know the defender was seriously injured.

“I think an apology is needed. I'm fuming with Martinelli, I don't know how a Liverpool player didn't go and whack him and take the red card. Absolutely disgraceful."

Roy Keane added: "It's not good. First of all, throwing the ball at him, standing over him. He's got a bit of a knee in him, he's trying to force him off.

"I think that behaviour is an absolute disgrace.”

The young Liverpool full-back left the Emirates on crutches, with his knee in a brace. He is expected to be out of action for some time.

Martinelli was booked for his shove on Bradley, and Standard Sport understands that Martinelli will not face any further action, such as a ban.

It is understood that the Football Association felt on-field referee Anthony Taylor dealt with the situation appropriately.

In-game incidents are only subject to retrospective action from English football’s governing body when the FA feels a referee and their VAR team have missed a key incident or have missed crucial elements of an incident.

This does not apply to Martinelli’s push on Bradley, as the Brazilian was cautioned.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended his player after the game, telling reporters: “Knowing Gabi, if anybody knows Gabi, he’s an incredible, lovely guy, and probably he didn’t realise what happened.”

Arne Slot, the Liverpool manager, agreed and insisted he was “100 per cent sure” Martinelli would not have pushed Bradley if he had known the full-back was seriously injured.

“I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy and I think the problem for him is, and it’s a problem in general in football, there’s so much time-wasting and players pretending they’re injured during the game, you can sometimes be annoyed if you want to score a goal and you think a player is time-wasting,” Slot explained.

“I cannot ask Gabriel Martinelli in the 94th minute, when it’s so emotional, for him to understand he plays Liverpool who are a team that don’t go to the floor.

“I’m 100 per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be that he would never do that. But it doesn’t look great if he has the injury we fear he might have, of course.

“But football, time-wasting, diving has come to the point that in the 94th minute players think that’s probably happening again because I’ve seen it against us so many times this season.”