Jamie Carragher deletes Howard Webb question fuelling Arsenal red card conspiracy theory

Jamie Carragher questioned whether Howard Webb, the PGMOL chief, to a red one during Arsenal's match against Bournemouth in a now-deleted post on X/Twitter.

Initially, referee Rob Jones had given Saliba a yellow card for pulling down Evanilson in the first half, but VAR intervened, and the card was upgraded to red. As a result, Saliba will miss the crucial match against next weekend.

Carragher wrote: "Was Howard Webb involved in the decision-making of the red card for Saliba??". The post has since been taken down but came after Webb was shown on television listening into the VAR audio in the stands.

The decision sparked outrage among fans, who chanted "F*** Howard Webb" after the red card was given. At half-time, the match was still goalless but the Gunners lost 2-0 in the end.

Saliba's dismissal adds to the challenges faced by Mikel Arteta, who is already dealing with the absence of captain Martin Odegaard due to injury. However, Arteta hinted on Friday that Odegaard might be fit enough to face Liverpool next week, reports . The team , who sustained an injury while on international duty.

The Premier League has shed light on the rationale behind escalating Saliba's booking to a dismissal during the live match, stating that his denial of a clear goalscoring chance was the reason for the change.

"The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson," the statement clarified. "The VAR deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card."

The Gunners have seen Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard hit with red cards this season already. Both players received their marching orders for delaying game restarts, with Trossard's coming in a critical clash against Manchester City last month.

Liverpool.com says: Webb didn't have any say in the decision but the officials got it right in the end. The red card was clearly correct and Bournemouth was the deserving winner across the course of the 90 minutes.