Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher replies to Morgan Gibbs-White’s sending off for Nottingham Forest vs Brighton
Former referee Dermot Gallagher believes the correct process was followed by the referees when deciding to send out Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White against Brighton.
The main flashpoint in Forest’s 2-2 draw came in the 83rd minute, when Gibbs-White went to confront Joao Pedro, and referee Rob Jones signalled that the midfielder had won the ball after his reckless sliding challenge. However, the final decision rejected this first opinion, as a second yellow card was issued, culminating in ejection.
Nuno Espirito Santo was furious, and his protests earned him an early trip inside, before Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler was the third person sent off as a result of the incident for his role in the uproar.
“I think what didn’t help is that when the referee says he’s got the ball, you believe it’s a great tackle. Fourth official [Anthony Taylor] has the other perspective; he sees it coming towards him and tells the referee, ‘I think it is deserving of a yellow card.’ “He already had a yellow card, so he got sent off,” Gallagher explained on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch.
Gallagher clarified whether a fourth official is permitted to participate in this manner, saying, “Yes, he is a member of the team.” That is what he is there for: to aid the referee. He has a different perspective, one that is approaching it, and he was the one who relayed the information since the referee plainly signs that he has the ball.
“He’s passed on that information, the referee has acted on it and unfortunately he has already had a yellow card so he gets the second one.”
Jones has been a top-flight official for five years, which is significantly shorter than Taylor’s 14-year tenure. Gallagher was then asked if seniority had influenced the ultimate decision to fire Gibbs-White, but he denied it.
“One has seen it from one angle and the other from another, it doesn’t matter who the officials are,” the man, 67, said. “I go back to the difficulty for me being when the referee signals he has the ball, that’s what throws up this anomaly that he’s seen it from his position, Anthony’s seen it from his, and he’s relayed: ‘You could have seen that he has got the ball, but he’s gone right through him, cleaned him out.
“So, based on his feedback, he believes it’s a yellow card. Rob, who believes he has a greater perspective than me, has gone fair enough. Unfortunately, he is already on a yellow card, which will soon turn red. He is a member of the team, and he plays an important role on it. However, the referee still has the last say.
Gallagher delegated the task of determining if the challenge was genuinely worthy of the eventual punishment to Stephen Warnock, a man he quipped had’made a career’ out of similar tackles and who was in attendance on Sunday to commentate on the game.
The former defender stated, “I was thinking, ‘Wow, what a challenge, what a brilliant challenge.'” As you mentioned, Dermot, I saw Rob Jones cross and give the ball signal, and I thought, ‘Good, you’ve seen it’.
“But, in the first half, there was a challenge right in front of the dugout, which resulted in a bit of a melee, and he didn’t call the foul. I was asking, ‘What is Anthony Taylor doing? If his duty isn’t to participate in the game, what’s the point of him being there? This time, I believe he gets involved incorrectly.
“This is the hardest thing we’ll find every week, there has to be momentum with a challenge otherwise you’re gonna see the game change completely and we’re just gonna end up with a passive game of football.”
