'Easiest red card of the weekend' - PGMOL expert baffled by what he saw in Arsenal vs Brighton

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Football Insider or go back to LFC Live.

Credit: Imago Mon 29 December 2025 9:30, UK Fabian Hurzeler’s side should have gone down to 10 men during a moment of madness against Arsenal on Saturday.That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that referee John Brooks had the “easiest red card of the weekend” on 27 December.Martin Odegaard scored his first club goal since last season, not counting friendlies, before a Georginio Rutter own goal meant Diego Gomez‘s second-half effort was nothing but a consolation.David Raya stunned Alan Shearer, with the goalkeeper thwarting the Seagulls at the Emirates Stadium, but it was a very different tale at the other end of the pitch for Bart Verbruggen.Arsenal lead Brighton 1-0 at half-time, but should the visitors also be down to 10?Bart Verbruggen rushed off his line to deal with a long ball that Viktor Gyokeres was chasing, and his attempted clearance also caught the striker.The goalkeeper was shown a yellow card. pic.twitter.com/Ff5bpQESWS— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) December 27, 2025 View Tweet Bart Verbruggen crashes into Viktor Gyokeres at the Emirates StadiumOn the stroke of half-time, Verbruggen came charging out of his area, scything down Viktor Gyokeres, who was about escape the shot-stopper, and likely have an effort at goal.Unsurprisingly, the home supporters were crying out for a red card, but Brooks kept to his decision of a simple caution, sparing the Dutchman his first professional sending-off. There’s excessive force, he’s run outside of his penalty area at speed, he’s forgotten the ball, and he’s got to swipe the man out of play.

“The law says that he’s endangered the safety of his opponent. It doesn’t mean that he’s got to put the player in hospital, but it’s not far away.

He knows what he’s doing. “If he doesn’t take the player out, he’s through in on goal.