Ian Wright shares why he thinks Declan Rice’s red card vs Brighton was wrong which nobody has mentioned

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Declan Rice picked up a very controversial red card against Brighton at the weekend.

The midfielder received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for kicking the ball away after a free-kick was given.

This red card has caused quite the stir.

Not only did Rice only kick the ball a matter of inches, he was also the victim of a serious follow through as Joel Veltman tried to restart play.

Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Ian Wright has been discussing this red card, and he says that he’s not happy with the call.

Wright says that this shouldn’t have been a red as the ball was moving and play couldn’t have been restarted in any case.

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Ian Wright verdict on Declan Rice red card

Wright gave his opinion on this decision.

“The point I can make now. 24 hours after we had ex referees and that speaking about it. None of the pundits and nobody has mentioned that it shouldn’t have been a yellow card because the ball was moving and you can’t restart a game with a moving ball,” Wright said.

“How many times have we seen a player put the ball down and it’s moving and the ref pulls them back. What I’m upset about is that VAR, who know the rules, should’ve seen that the ball was moving, and you can’t restart the game anyway.”

Why Declan Rice was sent off

Declan Rice’s red card has caused a real debate within the Premier League, but the rules on this are quite clear.

“An opponent who deliberately prevents a free kick being taken quickly must be cautioned for delaying the restart of play,” States the official FA Rulebook.

Of course, the ball was moving, so play couldn’t be restarted straight away, but Rice flicking the ball away and off the pitch did still delay the restart.

If Rice hadn’t done this, Joel Veltman could easily have stopped the ball and got going again straight away, but Rice did delay matters, even if just by a few seconds.

By the letter of the law, this was the right decision, even if common sense would suggest otherwise.