adminREFEREE Andre Marriner admitted to Arsenal that he made a mistake on Saturday by sending off Kieran Gibbs in the Gunners’ 6-0 loss to Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled a ball in the box with Arsenal already trailing 2-0 in the 17th minute, but Marriner issued the red card to Gibbs, sending off the wrong player.
Marriner’s admission was revealed in a statement released by the referee’s board hours after the match.
“Andre is an experienced referee and is obviously disappointed that an error of mistaken identity was made in this case,” the statement read.
“Incidents of mistaken identity are very rare and are often the result of a number of different technical factors.
“Whilst this was a difficult decision Andre is disappointed that he failed to identify the correct player.” — Soccernet
Online Reporter