“We might have to play with a stop watch,” quipped Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after Takehiro Tomiyasu’s eight seconds to take a throw-in played a part in his red card.
Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 1-0, with Martin Odegaard scoring the only goal from the spot, but the Gunners’ first red card since 2021-22 made the headlines.
Referees have been told to clamp down on time wasting and dissent this season – with 18 yellow cards for dissent and 14 for time wasting in the opening two weekends.
Those 32 yellows in just over 5% of the season compare to 174 across the entire of last campaign. If the cards continue at the current rate there will be 608 this season.
‘This will have a big impact’
For this latest one, Kai Havertz had the ball for 15 seconds for Arsenal’s throw-in before instead handing it to Tomiyasu. The Japan defender looked for players to make a run and just as he was taking it, eight seconds later, he was booked.
Not long after he was shown a second yellow card for a minor foul on Jordan Ayew.
“These are the [new] standards,” Arteta told BBC Sport afterwards.
“I don’t know exactly how long… [On being told it was 23 seconds]. No, it wasn’t. I think it was eight seconds. We might have to play with a stop watch. It’s OK, we won the game, I’m happy.”
He added: “The new rules are one thing, the way it is communicated is very different but we will adapt.”
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “We went to see [referees’ chief] Howard Webb a few weeks ago and it was said the existing rules cater to stop time wasting.
“If players start getting sent off for wasting time – this will have a bigger impact tonight on time wasting, than adding 15 minutes on at the end.”
That was a reference to the other big change this season – more injury time being added onto the end of games to more accurately reflect all the stoppages.
Ex-Liverpool player Jamie Carragher added: “I feel sorry for Tomiyasu. The role of Partey at the start, then Havertz. I don’t think Tomiyasu is wasting time, he ran to pick the ball up.”
‘It is working in terms of getting players sent off’
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson said: “These rules and ideas are thrust upon us, we don’t have too much say, we have to learn to live with them.
“I can understand how Arsenal would be unhappy about the two yellow cards, I am sure I would be too.
“It is working in terms of getting players sent off but whether that is the right thing, I will leave referees to decide themselves.”
A total of five players were sent off in this weekend’s nine games, although Tomiyasu’s was the only one involving the new guidelines.
