Former referee Keith Hackett believes Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli should be banned after his behaviour towards Conor Bradley in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool.
Bradley suffered a serious-looking knee injury at the Emirates on Thursday evening, in a moment that was further marred by Martinelli’s antics.
The Arsenal winger disgracefully tried to push the right-back off the pitch while he was writhing around injured in the dying minutes, causing much anger among Liverpool’s players.
Martinelli was shown a yellow card for his behaviour, which included throwing the ball at Bradley, but that arguably wasn’t enough punishment.
Speaking to Football Insider, Hackett didn’t hold back on his thoughts on Martinelli, calling for retrospective action to come his way with a ban:
“It was evident that the Liverpool player [Conor Bradley] was seriously injured. The actions of Martinelli were frankly disgraceful, and for me, deserved a red card. His actions endangered the safety of his opponent. When a player is injured, and this was serious, it is so important that trained medics assess the player quickly and determine how to deal with the injured player.
“Referee Anthony Taylor, who officiated well throughout this encounter by his prompt action of showing a quick yellow, helped to diffuse the flare-up. I want the authorities to review this incident with a view to upgrading Taylor’s yellow card. I do not expect the football authorities to take any further action, but I would be happy if they did.”
Martinelli’s behaviour unacceptable despite apology
Martinelli has since apologised, which is frankly the bare minimum, and while he doesn’t come across as a niggly player, his antics do rather define Arsenal as a side.
All teams are an embodiment of their manager, and Mikel Arteta’s snide approach was summed up by the manner in which Martinelli treated Bradley, with no sportsmanship shown at all.
Hopefully, the Northern Irishman’s injury isn’t a serious one, but he was seen leaving the Emirates on crutches and it feels possible that his season could even be over, should he have suffered ACL damage.
Martinelli may not be looking forward to the next time to heads to Anfield, with the Liverpool fans sure to remind him of what he did.
