Referee Andre Marriner Sent the Wrong Arsenal Player Off After Handball

Referee Andre Marriner made a blatant error early on in the Arsenal-Chelsea match when he mistakenly sent off Kieran Gibbs for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s handball in the box.

With Chelsea already up 2-0, Eden Hazard booted a shot toward the Arsenal goal. Oxlade-Chamberlain erroneously thought it was headed into the goal and batted it away in a last-ditch move fueled by desperation and frustration. Marriner promptly issued a red card to his teammate, who wasn’t involved in the play at all.

Gibbs appealed to the referee, saying he was the offending party, but to no avail. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s protests also fell on deaf ears.

The officiating error was part of a nightmarish first half for Arsenal, who find themselves down four goals at halftime.

[World Soccer Talk]