In the 20th round of the Premier League, both Tottenham and Arsenal faced controversial penalty decisions. The penalty awarded after Saliba collided with Joao Pedro has particularly incensed Arteta, who repeatedly criticized referee Anthony Taylor post-match, deeming the penalty decision "disappointing." So, should Saliba have been penalized for knocking down Joao Pedro?
The controversial decision was also a rare one. In the 59th minute of the match, Joao Pedro lofted the ball and then headed it forward, colliding with Saliba afterward. Joao Pedro fell to the ground, prompting the referee to award a penalty immediately, much to the chagrin of the Arsenal players.
However, the referee stood firm on his decision, with the video assistant referee (VAR) also confirming there was "sufficient contact" between the two players. Joao Pedro converted the penalty to level the score for Brighton.
After the penalty was awarded, Alan Smith commented, "It's a head-on collision; this is an unusual penalty. You don't often see such situations, but he did make contact with the Brighton player."
"The referee had a clear view, but it's very unusual. I don't remember a penalty being awarded in this way, but I don't want to argue. If it were contact with the feet, you wouldn't think twice about it."
Indeed, this is where the controversy lies. In slow motion, after Joao Pedro lofted the ball, Saliba attempted to head it away and indeed made contact with the ball before colliding with Joao Pedro.
Sky Sports journalist Breezy pointed out the issue, "If no penalty had been awarded, would VAR have overturned the decision? Heltzel's complaints may have significantly influenced Anthony Taylor's thinking on the field."
This was not only a highly controversial decision but also one that impacted the title race in the Premier League. After drawing with Brighton, Arsenal remained in second place with 40 points, five points behind Liverpool, who had played two fewer matches. Had they won all three points, the Gunners would have narrowed the gap to just three points.
The two managers had starkly different views. Arteta angrily stated, "We are disappointed with the way the penalty was awarded, very disappointed. I've never seen anything like this in my life; Saliba touched the ball. To me, it's clearly not a penalty."
At the press conference, Arteta again lambasted the referee, saying, "The refereeing in this game was very disappointing; in my career, I've never seen such a decision. I asked the guys if they'd ever seen a penalty like this, and none of them had."
When asked if he thought the video assistant referee should have overturned the decision, Arteta said, "I asked, and three seconds later they said they had checked it; it seemed pretty quick." He also revealed that Taylor hadn't explained himself, merely saying he would consider it.
Heltzel, on the other hand, said, "It's a clear penalty. It's a head-on collision; if it were any other part of the body, everyone would say it's a penalty. Pedro got to the header first; Saliba was a step late."
The opinions of the legends were also completely different. Legendary striker Lineker said, "I've watched football for a long time and have never seen a penalty awarded for a header collision; almost every corner kick shows similar situations." Danny Murphy also said, "Players bump into each other to compete for the ball; I don't want to see penalties awarded for such situations, and most people feel the same."
Legendary defender Upson commented, "It's a head collision; this is interesting; how often do you see a penalty awarded for a head collision?"
Redknapp analyzed, "Is this a penalty? Of course it is. You can see the contact; he hit Pedro and then fell. You can't do that in the penalty area; their defense was too reckless. I understand why people say it shouldn't be a penalty, but his head was hit and he fell; it's a foul."