Gallagher: Max Dowman red card appeal will fail
Arsenal are appealing the Max Dowman red card from the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Fleetwood Town. Dowman was dismissed for violent conduct after kicking out at Harrison Neal late in the match. Arsenal lost the tie on penalties.
The club must submit appeal documents by 1pm on Thursday. Arsenal are hopeful a decision arrives before Sunday's fixture at Liverpool, which is live on Sky Sports. Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, expects the appeal to be rejected.
"I don't, because of the aggressiveness of Dowman, and you can see the intent," Gallagher told Sky Sports News. "I think it will fail."
Harrison Neal challenge and the free-kick Arsenal did not get
Gallagher compared the incident with Cole Palmer's collision with Mateus Fernandes on Saturday. His reading: Dowman's action carried more force. "He knows what he's doing," Gallagher said. "He almost brings his knee up in a kicking action."
Gallagher also said the sequence should have produced a free-kick for Arsenal and a yellow card for Neal. "Although Neal gets the ball, he's too aggressive," he said. "It's a reckless challenge and he's had little regard to the safety of Dowman."
His assessment of the tackle: Neal committed to the contact before it arrived. "Neal is not bothered whether he catches him afterwards. He was always going to get Dowman," Gallagher said. "That's enough for a free-kick and a yellow card."
Merson and McAnuff question Mikel Arteta's reaction
Paul Merson read the dismissal differently. He called Neal's tackle old-fashioned and, in his view, a good one. He said Dowman's retaliation came after his foot was caught, and that the reaction of the players shaped the decision.
"In my opinion, it wasn't a red card," Merson said. "I don't think it should have been given. The kid's 16 years of age."
Merson's wider point was about exposure. He said Dowman was sent off for England against the USA in a recent match, and that opponents will now target him. "He's going to get kicked," Merson said. "People are going to look at the game now, and they're going to go, 'Right, we've got to upset him. Try and get inside him.'"
Both Merson and Jobi McAnuff criticised Arteta's exchange with Dowman as the teenager passed the dugouts on his way to the tunnel. Arteta said only that it was "something that we discussed before the game" and declined to elaborate when pressed.
Merson said the manager should have put an arm around him instead. "If that's [Viktor] Gyokeres, who's an experienced international, he isn't doing that - but he does that to a 16-year-old kid?" he said. "It's still 1-1, they're still in the game." McAnuff said he could not understand the reaction and that Arteta "didn't get that quite right".
Arteta's account of the preparation was narrower. "We knew when we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to expect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate," he said.
What Arsenal need before Liverpool
The appeal timeline is the operative fact. Documents by 1pm Thursday. A verdict before Sunday's trip to Liverpool. If the appeal fails, the dismissal stands; the source report does not state the length of any suspension.
The two pundit positions sit far apart. Gallagher's view is that the on-field decision survives review. Merson's is that it should not have been given at all. Arsenal's submission, and the panel's reading of the kicking action, will settle which one holds.
The original report is from skysports.com.
