For Keith Hackett, Arsenal’s Carabao Cup exit on Tuesday turned on two refereeing errors deep in stoppage time, not one. The former head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body that oversees English football’s referees, said in posts picked up by GiveMeSport that Salisbury had no choice once Dowman kicked out, but that the Fleetwood challenge that set the whole thing off should have been dealt with first.
“That challenge by the Fleetwood player should have seen minimum yellow card. The retaliation is the one that is an easy spot for the officials. The assistant was close by also,” Hackett wrote.
Dowman was shown a straight red for violent conduct in a tie Arsenal thought they had rescued. Aaron Loupalo-Bi had put the League Two hosts in front in the 21st minute and Viktor Gyökeres equalised five minutes into the second half, before Harrison Neal flew in on the 16-year-old in the 90th minute. Dowman kicked out at the Fleetwood defender, and Salisbury waved off the Arsenal protests and reached for the card.
‘Really harsh,’ said Hinchcliffe
Not every voice behind the microphone agreed with the call. On Sky Sports co-commentary, Andy Hinchcliffe called the decision “really harsh” as the replays rolled.
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Arteta leans in, then says little
The sharper image from the night was Mikel Arteta leaning in close as Dowman walked past him on his way to the tunnel. Pressed afterwards on what he said to the teenager, the Arsenal manager would only tell reporters it was “something that we discussed before the game”, widening the answer to a line about his players having been “very clear on the things to expect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate.”
The reserved tone from the touchline has drawn its own criticism. Speaking on Sky Sports, Paul Merson said he would have handled a 16-year-old differently in that moment: “If it was me, I’d have put my arm around him.” He drew a direct comparison to how an older player would have been treated, suggesting Arteta would not have gone up to Gyökeres in the same way.
Dowman’s three-match suspension will be carried into the Premier League, costing him games against Liverpool, Hull City and Newcastle. Fleetwood won the shootout 5-3, with Bruno Guimarães’s spot kick saved by Jay Lynch before Conor Haughey tucked away the winner.
