Brentford manager Thomas Frank is furious that Kai Havertz was not sent off for simulation earlier in the game between his team and Arsenal, as the German proved to be the hero by scoring the winner.
Havertz had gone down under little to no touch when he was on a yellow card and could easily have been cautioned.
However, the referee and VAR did not see enough in his action to punish the attacker, and he became the hero of the night by scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the Gunners.
After the game, a visibly upset Frank said, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
‘I actually don’t think Havertz should have been on the pitch when he scored the goal,’ he said. ‘For me it was a clear dive [in Collins’ challenge] in the penalty shout. If you see that slowly, the diving is clear. Maybe it’s difficult for the ref but the linesman maybe should have seen it.’ [Was already on a yellow]
Just Arsenal Opinion
Havertz may have made the most of the situation, but there was at least minimal contact between him and the Brentford defender, which made the situation tough for the officials.
The decision was the right one, and we were lucky the official did not make a harsher one and sent him off because it would clearly have affected us.