“Explain it to me, how could something like this happen. The officials of the match don’t know what they are doing. There’s obvious favoritism in the match” – Rio Ferdinand is urging officials involved in the Arsenal vs Chelsea match to clarify a decision that left him incredulous.

Arsenal secured a comfortable win over Chelsea in the Premier League on Tuesday night, although there was a contentious moment when Mikel Arteta’s team held only a one-goal lead.

Former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand expressed bewilderment at the decision not to red-card Nicolas Jackson during Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal.

In the ninth minute, with Arsenal leading 1-0, Jackson’s challenge on Takehiro Tomiyasu appeared high and dangerous, but he escaped punishment, receiving no card from referee Simon Hooper.

 

However, this decision had minimal impact on the outcome as Arsenal dominated the second half, scoring four goals through Ben White and Kai Havertz to secure a 5-0 victory, following Leandro Trossard’s early goal.

Nevertheless, questions arose at halftime regarding the potential influence of Jackson’s continued participation in the match.

Ferdinand discussed the incident during halftime analysis in the TNT Sports Studio.

“We were all astonished that VAR didn’t review it,” Ferdinand remarked. “It was unbelievable.

We’ve witnessed numerous incidents this season that were as bad, if not worse, than this.

 

“When you see those incidents, players are sent off, but here they didn’t even review it.

I perceived it as a reckless challenge.

I would appreciate it if they could come and clarify that decision to me, please.”

 

Jackson, who joined from Villarreal last summer, received five yellow cards in his first six Premier League games for Chelsea.

However, he has only picked up four yellow cards in the following months.

Several fans on social media during the match expressed the opinion that Jackson should have been shown a red card.

One fan commented, “He shouldn’t be allowed to stay on the pitch after that,” while another questioned, “How is this not even a yellow card?”

 

Fortunately for Arsenal, the non-decision didn’t have an immediate impact. Tomiyasu was able to continue playing, and Mikel Arteta’s team dominated the game after halftime.

 

The victory propelled Arsenal three points clear at the top of the Premier League table, although their closest rivals have at least one game in hand.

Liverpool faces Everton on Wednesday, while Manchester City’s first makeup game takes place against Brighton a day later.

 

Arsenal’s next match is the North London Derby against Tottenham on Sunday. Despite their loss, Chelsea still has a chance to secure European qualification and will face Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa in their next game on Saturday night.