The dust is still settling from the drama that unfolded during Wolves’ defeat to Arsenal at Molineux.
On matchday 23 of the Premier League season, Vitor Pereira watched his side lose their fourth consecutive game in the competition.
Arsenal beat Wolves 1-0 in a painful fixture for the Old Gold, who for the most part, asked questions of the Gunners.
Pereira described the match-ending moment as Joao Gomes’ red card however, the Brazilian’s dismissal wasn’t the primary talking point from the defeat.
- READ MORE: Former referee shares Joao Gomes red card verdict – he says Vitor Pereira’s reaction is ‘everything’
Wolves fan challenges Martin Keown amid complaints over Arsenal red card
Gomes was criticised for letting Wolves down as Arsenal broke the deadlock minutes after the midfielder walked.
While the 23-year-old made a game-changing error by being sent off, Gomes’ red wasn’t the only dismissal of the game as Myles Lewis-Skelly saw red in the first half.
Lewis-Skelly’s red card has been described as ‘the worst’ decision in Premier League history, leading to PGMOL releasing a statement in support of referee Michael Oliver, who received a lot of backlash from his call.
Though the decision was supported by VAR, many remain perplexed at the official’s verdict, including Martin Keown, who was challenged about the incident by a Wolves fan on talkSPORT.
The Wolves supporter, Nigel, called Keown out for his opinion on the card, explaining why it was ‘the right decision’ for Oliver to make.
“Definitely the right decision, when Martin Keown mentioned the incident earlier on, he needs to be honest about it. If you look at that challenge, when the first contact was made, his six studs are clearly showing and he contacts him on the back of the calf.
“If that leg had been planted on the ground, it would’ve possibly caused severe injury. It was reckless, how can Martin Keown sit there, and all these other pundits who say it’s not a red card, they just need to wake up, the game’s changed Martin.”
As expected, Keown was keen to respond to the Wolves fan, resulting in him exploring Gomes’ second yellow card offence.
“I pose you one here, so Gomes gets sent off for two yellows, was that second challenge not more a red than the Arsenal one?”
“Possibly,” Nigel, the Wolves supporter responded, to which Keown asked why Gomes didn’t receive a straight red.
To turn down another route regarding the foul, the Wolves fan then took aim at the fallout from the decision and the unacceptable abuse directed at Oliver.
“When your six studs are showing towards the back of someone’s calf and going in at that speed, I tell you Martin you just really need to wake up and be honest about it because Michael Oliver’s getting all this stick because of people like you.”
Keown responded by denying that ‘people like’ him are behind the ‘stick’ Oliver received by mentioning the referee’s record when officiating Arsenal, something that the pundits in the talkSPORT studio disagreed with.
talkSPORT pundits agree with Wolves fans’ reaction to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red
Very quickly, Jim White and Simon Jordan showed support for the Wolves supporter’s point about abuse on Oliver, as the duo questioned Keown’s conspiratory remarks.
“The Arsenal fans do feel there’s an issue, he’s sent eight Arsenal players off,” Keown said, before White and Jordan shot him down.
White said, “So now you’re entering conspiracy theory territory. So what does that tell us about the cards he’s shown the Arsenal players?”
“I think the facts are that he’s sent eight Arsenal players off,” Keown responded.
White fired back with, “What’s the point in bringing that up though? You’re pointing a conspiratorial finger at Oliver.”
Jordan then got involved in the discussion involving the two pundits and the Wolves fan.
“By you bringing it up, you must be making a point behind that, are you simply saying that the Arsenal fans are wrong to feel that way or, are you saying that there’s some validation because if you’re saying that then you’re moving towards the fact that this referee has a bias against Arsenal.”
Keown backtracked by saying, “I feel that he’s an honest referee, nobody goes to send players off. All I’m saying is unfortunately there are eight players who have been sent off by this referee.”
Jordan called time on the discussion started by Nigel, the Wolves supporter, by informing Keown that ‘maybe’ the Arsenal players deserved each red card.
“Maybe they merited it, and maybe the Arsenal fans don’t see things objectively like you don’t.”
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will attempt to appeal Lewis-Skelly’s red card after the drama that unfolded at Molineux.