- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Arsenal fans were furious during Saturday’s game against Leicester when Wilfred Ndidi avoided a second yellow card despite clearly kicking the ball away.
The incident occurred in the 35th minute after Bukayo Saka had been fouled by Stephy Mavididi.
Ndidi – who had been booked four minutes earlier for fouling Riccardo Calafiori – then jogged over to the ball and kicked it past Saka and off the pitch.
This was similar to an incident which resulted in Leandro Trossard being sent off away at Manchester City last weekend.
Gunners midfielder Declan Rice has also received a second yellow card this season for kicking the ball away and ‘delaying the restart’ – something referees were instructed to clamp down on over the summer.
It could be argued that Ndidi was not delaying the restart on this occasion as Arsenal were not looking to take a quick free-kick.
Nevertheless, several fans were quick to accuse Premier League officials of ‘hypocrisy’.
One tweeted: ‘Ndidi kicking the ball away after fouling Saka. You see the hypocrisy looooool’.
Another wrote: ‘I really need to understand this touch the ball after the referee whistle rule because why is it ok for Ndidi to kick the ball here’.
