FA confirm that Arsenal can appeal shocking Gibbs-Chamberlain red card gaffe

Kieran Gibbs pleads his innocence after wrongly being shown a red card after Alex Oxlade Chamberlain handled the ball.

The Football Association has confirmed that Arsenal can appeal Kieran Gibbs’ red card he received against Chelsea on Saturday on the grounds of mistaken identity.

Gibbs was sent off after half an hour of Arsenal’s 6-0 humiliation at the hands of Chelsea in Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game in charge, despite it having been Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who had handled an Eden Hazard shot on the line, prompting widespread criticism of referee Andre Marriner.

The FA have precedent for decisions like this in the current season, with an incident at Preston North End v Port Vale seeing Neil Kilkenny’s sending off transferred to Joe Garner after the referee mixed up the two.

The FA have confirmed that the same rules will apply to this case and Arsenal can appeal the decision and transfer Gibbs’ suspension to his England team-mate.

UEFA’s chief of press weighed in on the debate as he questioned England’s reluctance to use extra officials, claiming they would have ensured that no mistake would have been made in this case.

Pedro Pinto wrote on Twitter: “What confusion at Chelsea-Arsenal with the pen decision. That’s why over 30 European countries have endorsed UEFA-backed 5 officials system.

“With an additional assistant referee on the end line, referee would not have got that sending off wrong. Technology is not the answer.

“More eyeballs are the answer. GLT (Goal-line Technology) helps with goal line decisions, but five officials system gives referee more angles of vision. It’s not one vs the other.”