Declan Rice escaped a red card in the closing moments of Arsenal ’s defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion , with the Premier League explaining why the incident was judged to fall short of violent conduct.

As Arsenal’s miserable afternoon at the Amex drew to a close on Saturday, frustration got the better of Rice in the 97th minute when he swung a kick at Malick Yalcouye .

Had referee Darren England shown a red card, there would have been few complaints from an Arsenal perspective.

As it was, Rice was booked and avoided a suspension that would also have ruled him out of Arsenal’s matches against Leeds United , Nottingham Forest and Everton after the international break.

The decision prompted questions from opposition supporters after the game (and a lot of crying from pundits), with attention turning to why England had opted for a yellow card and why VAR Tim Wood had checked and cleared the incident rather than recommending an on-field review.

According to talkSPORT , the Premier League’s explanation was straightforward: “VAR decided it did not meet the threshold for violent conduct, considering it to be petulant at best.”

That interpretation spared Arsenal from losing one of their key midfielders for three further league fixtures at a point when the disappointment of the Brighton defeat had already made Saturday difficult enough.

Rice was fortunate that the incident was viewed in that way. The kick was unnecessary and, indeed, petulant, but had it been the other way around, we would have been furious at the decision to issue only a yellow card.