In a surprising turn of events, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara has come to the defence of Arsenal’s Declan Rice following the controversial red card yesterday.
O’Hara, known for his Spurs allegiance, offered an unexpected perspective on the situation. He argued that Rice’s actions did not warrant such severe punishment, suggesting that the referee’s decision was overly harsh.
“For me personally, I think it’s harsh. Joao Pedro kicks one away and doesn’t get booked for it,” O’Hara told talkSPORT. “Declan Rice then gets a yellow for that. If he goes and kicks it into the advertising boardings or picks it up and runs away and then throws it away. Then fine. But he taps it a yard. Come on. Where’s the common sense?”
O’Hara’s stance highlights the frustration with inconsistency, where even fierce rivals can find common ground on matters of fair play. He further emphasised the need for referees to use discretion, stating, “Where’s the common sense rule of a referee? Where you go ‘I can’t send him off for that’.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
When former Spurs players come out against a referee’s decision involving Arsenal then you just know how poor the red card was yesterday for Rice.
Rice will now miss the North London derby and we cannot even appeal against the decision which makes the frustration and anger twice as bad.
That said, we should still have enough to defeat Spurs in their backyard once again.
