Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori tells referees 'you have to do your job' after Leandro Trossard red card

ByEurosport

Published 22/09/2024 at 19:18 GMT

Forward Leandro Trossard was given a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, and Arsenal goalscorer, defender Riccardo Calafiori, hit out at Michael Oliver's decision. Manager Mikel Arteta made his frustration known as Jeremy Doku escaped censure for a similar transgression for the home side.

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Riccardo Calafiori implored referees to “do their job” as he hit out at Michael Oliver’s decision to send off Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

Trossard was already on a yellow card when he kicked the ball away following the award of a free-kick against him.

The current regulation states that players should be given a yellow card if they kick the ball away, and Oliver issued a caution to the Belgian forward.

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Arsenal players protested at the time, and already 2-1 up, manager Mikel Arteta set his team up to hold on for as long as possible, ultimately conceding an equaliser from John Stones in the 98th minute.

Calafiori, a new signing from Serie A side Bologna, scored an outstanding effort for his team and was part of a stout defensive effort for most of the match.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Italian suggested Oliver could have taken a different course of action for the good of the game.

He said: “Referees have to do their job to keep the game good to watch.

“In this action they don’t have to put themselves [in the spotlight] too much. Come on? You have to do your job.

“No more. Let the guys play.”

Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku later appeared to get away with a similar infraction as Trossard, and coupled with Declan Rice’s recent red after blocking the taking of a free kick, Arteta spoke of his frustrations.

He stated: "It is very obvious, I don't need to talk about it. I think the red card is very clear, very obvious what people think.

"It is not my job to come here and judge what happened. My job is to survive in one of the most difficult environments there is in football for 55 minutes and try to get things done to survive.

"The rest is not my job, but it has already happened twice in five games, which is very worrying to see in the best league, the Premier League.

"[The red card] makes the situation impossible. It is very, very hard to play with 11 players, with 10 it is impossible. With 10, you have to defend your six-yard box time and time again."

The draw moved City to 13 points from five games, with Arsenal two adrift in fourth place in the Premier League table.

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