Gabriel Martinelli is unlikely to face further retrospective punishment from the FA after shoving Conor Bradley during Arsenal’s goalless draw with Liverpool. The Brazilian was seen pushing the full-back off the pitch after being injured when Bradley cleared the ball intact.
The Brazilian initially dropped the ball over a defender, but when he saw Bradley try to return to the pitch, he pushed him away. Liverpool’s team were furious at the incident and shoved the Arsenal winger, which ultimately led to referee Anthony Taylor showing him a yellow card.
According to Football.London, Taylor witnessed the incident and issued a warning at the time, so there will be no retrospective punishment from the FA. As a warning was given, this incident will be recorded in the referee’s match report.
After the match, Martinelli apologized for his actions on social media. The 24-year-old admitted that he had made contact with the Liverpool defender.
Martinelli posted on Instagram: “I really couldn’t understand how he was so seriously injured in the heat.” “We deeply apologize for the way we reacted. We will once again do everything in our power to help Connor recover quickly.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slott also expressed his understanding of Martinelli after the final whistle. He maintained his sympathy for Arsenal’s players and cited the growing problem of time wasting in football as a reason for the heated reaction.
“I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he seems like a nice guy,” Slott said. “The problem for him, and it’s also a problem with football in general, is that he wastes so much time at the end of the game and during the game that players are pretending to be injured. So it can be frustrating when players try to score a goal where you think they’re wasting time. You can’t ask Martinelli to think that clearly in the 94th minute.”
Mikel Arteta has highlighted Martinelli’s character and hinted that he will address the issue with the player. He suggested that the player likely did not understand the seriousness of the incident.
“If anyone knows Gabi, he’s an incredibly nice person. He probably didn’t realize what happened. I hope Conor does too. I want to talk to him now to understand that, but he probably didn’t realize what happened,” he added.
