PREMIER LEAGUE fans were left seething after Arsenal star Declan Rice escaped a “straight” red card following a controversial off-the-ball challenge with Brighton ace Malick Yalcouye.
The Gunners across all competitions at the Amex Stadium as the Seragulls picked up a 3-0 victory with goals by Pascal Gross, Babis Kostoulas and Chema Andres.
And things could have gotten worse for the North Londoners during stoppage time after Yalcouye, 20, tried to dispossess , 27, down the visitors’ half.
The England international managed to offload the ball under pressure but it appeared like the midfielder nudged him soon after.
And replays suggest the star hit back with a cheeky kick that floored the Ivory Coast international in the seventh minute of added time.
Referee Darren England stopped play and showed Rice a yellow card for his reaction.
However, the star midfielder was lucky as he could have been sent off – something that many fans furiously argued on social media.
One football enthusiast tweeted: “ must’ve been on a tea break…”
Another commented: “I don’t get how thats not violent conduct.”
A third wrote: “That’s a red at every level!”
This fan said: “Go give him the card, mate.”
That one added: “Straight red card.”
And a comment read: “F****** hell, thats atrocious.”
This comes almost two weeks after a similar incident between Rice and Morgan Rogers during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over rivals at the Emirates.
The ex-West Ham star , who thought his England team-mate did it on purpose to kill the Blues’ attack.
Tempers flared as the two stars had a heated confrontation until cooler heads prevailed.
was booked but Rice went unpunished after that controversial incident.
