- Timber escaped a red card after a heavy tackle on Tottenham star Porro
- He then avoided a second yellow card by tackling Tottenham keeper Vicario
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Jurrien Timber avoided a red card in Arsenal’s win over Tottenham because Jarred Gillett played it “safe”, a former Premier League referee has claimed.
Tottenham fans were furious after the Arsenal defender committed a brutal foul on Pedro Porro in the first half.
Timber caught his opponent on the ankle with his studs after going over the ball in a tackle similar to the one that sent Curtis Jones off after the Liverpool player caught Tottenham Hotspur’s Yves Bissouma last season.
Gillett felt the incident was only worthy of a yellow card this time, a view shared by VAR official Stuart Attwell.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has spoken out against the Sun that Gillett ‘played it safe’ with his decision.
Jurrien Timber was only given a yellow card after hitting Tottenham player Pedro Porro on the ankle
Porro lay down on the ground and held his ankle as Timber tried to continue playing
However, the referee blew his whistle for a foul and gave Timber a yellow card – instead of a red
Mark Halsey believes Jarred Gillett played it ‘safe’ by not sending off the Arsenal defender
He said: ‘I think the referee may have just taken the safe option and given a yellow card for a reckless foul.
‘Listen, if we look at Law 12 (Misconduct), a careless foul is a free kick and not a card, okay? A reckless foul is a free kick and a yellow card.
‘And an offence that endangers the player’s safety through excessive force or brutality should be punished with a red card.
‘It’s subjective, but I thought they did a great job.
“I thought it was a reckless foul, a free kick and a yellow card. I didn’t think it met the criteria for a serious foul. VAR looks at those fouls and they stuck to the decision on the pitch, which was correct.”
After the challenge, Porro’s teammates reacted angrily, with pushing and shoving between players from both sides.
Vicario was shown a yellow card for provoking the altercation, but many felt Timber should have been shown a second yellow card after grabbing the Tottenham keeper.
When asked if Timber should have been shown a second yellow card, Halsey replied that the Arsenal star ‘put his hands up to protect himself’ and that he should not have been shown another yellow card because he ‘wasn’t the aggressor’.
Timber then avoided a second yellow card by grabbing Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario by the shirt
Vicario reacted angrily to Timber’s challenge, which led to a scuffle between the two parties
There were some questions about inconsistency given the red card Jones received against Tottenham last season.
“Last season Curtis Jones tried the same thing,” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports.
‘But he (Jones) didn’t put his foot right on the ball, he went over it. That was a red card, and that’s the big difference between the two.’
Arsenal won the North London derby after Gabriel scored the only goal of the game.
