Gabriel Martinelli is under fire for shoving referee Sam Barrott following Arsenal’s shock FA Cup defeat to Southampton. Former Premier League official Mark Halsey believes the Brazilian forward should have received a red card for the late incident, describing his conduct as a complete lack of respect that sets a poor example for grassroots football around the country.

Calls for red cards.

According to The Sun, Halsey believes Martinelli should have been dismissed for his physical incident with Barrott during the 2-1 loss to Southampton on April 4. The event occurred in the last moments of the FA Cup encounter, as Arsenal desperately sought an equaliser. Halsey, who refereed in the top division for 14 years, believes the 24-year-old’s yellow card was far too lenient given the contact. The former official said that such aggressive behaviors weaken referees’ authority at all levels of the game, and he called for harsher fines to safeguard match officials.

Total disrespect was displayed.

The breakthrough came in the 94th minute, when Shea Charles put the hosts ahead. When the visitors were awarded a free kick, the forward tried to restart play quickly and assaulted the referee. Halsey was harsh in his appraisal of the Brazilian’s actions throughout the heated conversation. He added, “Referee Sam Barrott awarded Arsenal a free-kick, Martinelli rushes in and pushes Sam out of the way.” Now I apologize; Gabriel Martinelli displayed complete contempt toward match official Sam Barrott in that situation. Although Sam issued a yellow card, I consider it a red card. You simply cannot lay hands on a referee, let alone push him out of the way.

Impact on the grassroots

Aside from the immediate consequences for the club, Halsey is deeply concerned about the poor impression this sends to the grassroots game. He believes that great players have a responsibility to set an example for how officials are treated at neighborhood parks on weekends. Halsey continued, “You’ve got to look around the country, up and down, on Saturdays and Sundays, where we have local park referees going out and doing their games.” What message does this send to our local park referees? I thought Sam had a good game, and he refereed it well, but I believe he let the refereeing community down by not sending off Gabriel Martinelli for pushing him at the award of a free kick, allowing him to take it quickly.”

Pressure increases on FA.

The charity Ref Support UK has also spoken out about the situation, encouraging the Football Association to take retrospective action against both the player and his team. They feel that failing to sanction such an obvious act of assault will lead to an increase in similar events. In a statement, the organization stated: “The FA cannot let him get away with that.” This will be a squandered opportunity if they do not take action against Arsenal and Martinelli. There have been far too many occasions in football when referees have been assaulted or shoved, and football cannot allow this to continue. I would have liked to see the referee send him out.”