Declan Rice receives hilarious red card after bizarre incident against Brighton

Declan Rice received one of the most unusual red cards in recent years on Saturday afternoon as Arsenal took on Brighton at the Emirates.

The visitors arrived as one of the form teams in the Championship, with two wins from two after last week’s winner against Manchester United.

Arsenal set the tone early on but Brighton grew in strength as the first half progressed. However, the home side eventually took a 1-0 lead at the break thanks to a fine opener from Kai Havertz.

Things changed completely in the second half, with Declan Rice’s bizarre second yellow card turning the game on its head.

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Arsenal v Brighton: Declan Rice receives strange red card

Declan Rice had been booked in the first half for a misplaced tackle just before the break. Despite his tightrope position, Rice would be involved in a bizarre incident in the second half which earned him a second yellow card.

Brighton were awarded a free-kick in the corner near their goal, with Joel Veltman in position to take it. As Veltman prepared a quick free-kick, Rice pushed the ball away with a slight flick of his hand.

His intervention allowed Veltman to knock the ball out of the way of his opponent, who then continued on his way by hitting Rice with a powerful kick (probably initially intended for the ball).

Declan Rice was sent off for being volleyed in the ankle by Joel Veltman.

Fair enough. #ARSBHA pic.twitter.com/2jGiwq97uc

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) August 31, 2024

There was a sense that both sides bore some responsibility for the incident, with Rice undoubtedly having kicked the ball, while Veltman would surely have been aware of the 25-year-old’s presence and reacted quite forcefully.

After a delay in which Rice lay on the pitch arguing with Brighton players, the England international found his feet – and was immediately shown a second yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh for kicking the ball.

Rice was incredulous, the scene being vaguely hilarious to the neutral spectators, who saw a player get kicked in the leg and earn a red card for it. However, by the letter of the law, Kavanagh was right to send off the Arsenal star.

Brighton would equalise moments later through Joao Pedro and eventually secure a draw, continuing their impressive start to the season.

The incident earned Declan Rice the first red card of his career and ended Arsenal’s 100 per cent start to the season. Rice will now be suspended for Arsenal’s next game – a trip to north London for a derby against Tottenham.

Declan Rice will be back in action when he returns to the Aviva Stadium with England next Saturday for their Nations League opener against Ireland.

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