Premier League release statement after William Saliba concedes penalty as Arsenal fans furious

Arsenal have slipped up in the title race after drawing 1-1 against Brighton, who scored a second half penalty to cancel out Ethan Nwaneri's first half goal at The AMEX

Posted Sunday, January 05, 2025 by mirror.co.uk

The decision to award Brighton a penalty in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal has been explained by the Premier League - but that hasn't stopped criticism from some fans.

Mikel Arteta's men were a goal to good through the impressive Ethan Nwaneri when Brighton were awarded a spot-kick following a clash of heads between William Saliba and Joao Pedro in the penalty area, which the latter coolly dispatched.

The decision seemed to split opinion online with Arsenal fans reacting furiously. But the call was double checked by VAR with the Premier League confirming in a statement that there was sufficient contact between Saliba and Pedro to warrant a penalty.

Their statement read: "The referee's call of penalty for a foul by Saliba on Joao Pedro was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty."

Former Arsenal defender Matt Upson agreed with the call on BBC Radio 5 Live, though he recognised that the clash of heads was purely accidental.

He said: "A clash of heads. It's an interesting one. How often do you see a penalty given away for an accidental headbutt?

"It's a penalty, I suppose."

Some Arsenal fans felt differently, though. One user on X shared a clip of the incident and said: "In what world is this a penalty against Saliba????"

A different Arsenal fan posted: "I've never seen a penalty be given for going for a header, I must say," while another supporter said: "Only against Arsenal will you get a penalty for a clash of heads."

Arteta admitted he was "very disappointed" with the decision during his post-match interview with Sky Sports, saying: "I'm disappointed because we wanted to win the game. We started the game with good actions and a good goal. We knew it was going to be a challenging game.

"We gave too many balls away in the second half and we're very disappointed with the penalty. I've never seen that in my life – and Saliba touches the ball. [It wasn't one] for me, no."

Arsenal's draw means they are now five points behind Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title. Arne Slot's side have two games in hand, though, and could pull eight points clear with a win over Manchester United on Sunday.