Gabriel Martinelli is expected to avoid further punishment from the Football Association after coming into contact with a referee during Arsenal’s surprise FA Cup defeat to Southampton. The Arsenal forward received a yellow card after making contact with Sam Ballot’s arm in the dying moments of the 2-1 defeat to St Mary’s.
The incident occurred in the 94th minute when Martinelli touched the referee while attempting to take a quick free kick. However, The Athletic insists Ballot is unlikely to face further sanctions from the FA as he has addressed the issue on the pitch.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey condemned the Brazilian’s actions and said he should have received a straight red card. “Referee Sam Barot awarded Arsenal a free-kick and Martinelli rushed in and pushed Sam away.
“I’m sorry, but Gabriel Martinelli showed complete disrespect for match official Sam Ballot in that situation.
“Sam got a yellow card, but for me it’s a red card. You can’t touch the referee, much less push him away. On Saturdays and Sundays, local park referees have to go out and look around the country playing matches. What message does this send to local park referees?”
“I thought Sam played a good game and refereed the game well, but I think he let the refereeing community down by not sending off Gabriel Martinelli for pushing in when he was awarded a free-kick, so he could have taken the free-kick straight away.”
Lev Support UK, a charity that trains and supports referees, wrote of X: “The FA cannot afford to leave him alone. If they do not take action against Arsenal and Martinelli, they will miss this opportunity.”
“There are too many incidents in soccer where referees are pushed or shoved, but in soccer you can’t escalate things any further. I would have liked to have seen the referee send him off.”
This is the second time this season that Martinelli has avoided a retroactive ban, following widespread calls for a suspension following the Conor Bradley incident.
Martinelli then pushed an injured Liverpool defender off the pitch.
This latest breach by Martinelli compounded a thoroughly disastrous night for the Gunners, whose Treble ambitions were extinguished.
They had already lost the Carabao Cup final before the international break, but a match against a Championship side looked like they would provide the perfect opportunity to bounce back. In fact, they lost well, with Shay Charles scoring the winning goal in the closing stages.
Southampton will face Manchester City at Wembley, while Arsenal will focus on the Champions League and Premier League.
