“You just cannot put your hands on a referee”

Former PL referee Mark Halsey has criticized Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli for disrespecting the referee during their 2-1 loss to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final. The Gunners bowed out of the championship on Sunday (April 4).

The incident in question took place during stoppage time (94′) when Arsenal were awarded a free kick and were trailing 2-1 to Southampton. At that time, Gabriel Martinelli tried to restart play quickly by pushing away referee Sam Barrott. The Brazilian was shown a yellow card for his heated behavior on the pitch, although Halsey has argued it should have been a red card.

In an interview with The Sun, former Premier League referee Mark Halsey accused Gabriel Martinelli of disrespecting the referee, claiming he should have been shown a red card. He said (via GOAL):

“Referee Sam Barrott awarded a free-kick to Arsenal, Martinelli comes rushing in and he pushes Sam out of the way. Now I’m sorry, Gabriel Martinelli showed total disrespect for the match official Sam Barrott in that situation. Although Sam issued a yellow card, for me it’s a red card. You just cannot put your hands on a referee, let alone push him out of the way.”

He continued:

“You’ve got to look around the country, up and down, Saturday and Sundays where we have local park referees going out and doing their games. What message does that send out to our local park referees? I thought Sam had a good game, he refereed the game well, but I think he let the refereeing community down by not sending off Gabriel Martinelli for pushing him at the award of a free-kick, so he could take the free-kick quickly.”

Following the loss to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final, Arsenal will have to focus on winning the Premier League and the Champions League this season. The Gunners were hoping to secure a historic quadruple this time, but consecutively bowed out of both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. They lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, before the 2-1 defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta opens up after loss to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final

In the post-match press conference, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke about missing out on two titles while chasing four this season. He said (via the official website):

“No, and I don’t want to put any excuses about the players that are missing or the players that are here with issues. It’s not the case – let’s look at ourselves in the mirror, accept the situation, and go to Portugal with clarity and look forward to it.”

Arteta was speaking about the upcoming Champions League quarter-finals, where the Gunners will clash against Sporting CP at their home stadium in the first leg. The Gunners will do their best to end their trophy drought this season after five seasons without winning any silverware.