Gabriel Cleared of Violent Conduct After Martinez Incident
Five minutes into Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, the football stopped and the air went out of the Emirates.
A frantic scramble in the Chelsea box turned ugly when Gabriel’s boot caught Emiliano Martinez flush on the head, leaving the goalkeeper needing immediate treatment and players from both sides gesturing frantically for help. In real time it looked like chaos. On replay, it looked like trouble.
Referee Chris Kavanagh, his view blocked by bodies strewn across the six-yard area, kept his card in his pocket. VAR checked it, heard the Chelsea protests, and still chose not to send him to the monitor. The game moved on. The controversy didn’t.
Now the Premier League’s Key Match Incident Panel has had its say – and it has come down firmly on the side of the on-field officials.
Panel clears Gabriel of violent conduct
All five members of the KMI Panel reviewed the incident and unanimously agreed that Kavanagh was right not to show a red card, effectively clearing Gabriel of violent conduct.
In explaining the call, the panel highlighted the sheer congestion inside the penalty area as a decisive factor. With multiple players on the turf and several more throwing themselves at a loose ball, they judged Gabriel’s contact as part of a desperate attempt to clear, not an act of malice.
“The panel unanimously supported the referee's call of no red card,” it confirmed via the Premier League’s official channels. “Multiple players were on the ground competing and challenging for the loose ball, and the action of Gabriel was not deemed to be an act of violent conduct or serious foul play.”
The decision keeps intact a notable line on Gabriel’s record: across 265 appearances for Arsenal, he has still never received a straight red card. Since his arrival from Lille in 2020, the Brazilian has picked up 32 yellow cards and two dismissals, both for second bookable offences.
On paper, the case is closed. On the pundits’ couch, it is anything but.
Rooney and Young slam decision
Wayne Rooney did not hide his anger when he dissected the incident on BBC’s Match of the Day. For the former Manchester United captain, the slow-motion replays stripped away any ambiguity.
“You don’t really see it at first sight but then when you see a replay and they slow it down,” Rooney said. “Martinez has got the ball in his hands and Gabriel boots him in the head, he swings a leg and goes way over the top. He’s extremely lucky to stay on the pitch.”
Ashley Young, sitting alongside him, echoed that disbelief and turned his fire on the VAR process itself.
“I agree. When the ball is on the floor and Martinez has it, Gabriel kicks so high,” Young said. “I’m not sure why it hasn’t gone to VAR or if they’ve properly studied it because he’s nowhere near the ball. He’s got away with one there.”
Two former players, both seeing a red card that never came. A panel of experts, all backing the referee. The divide could hardly be sharper.
Arsenal ride reprieve to maintain perfect start
What is not in dispute is the impact of Gabriel staying on the pitch.
With Arsenal already stunned by an early sucker punch – £117m signing Morgan Rogers silencing the home crowd inside two minutes – a red card would have ripped up Mikel Arteta’s plan and handed Chelsea a commanding position.
Instead, Arsenal steadied. They pressed higher, passed quicker, and dragged the game away from Xabi Alonso’s side.
Kai Havertz, facing his former club, struck the equaliser to haul Arsenal level and shift the mood inside the stadium. After the interval, captain Martin Odegaard delivered the decisive moment, sliding home a 50th-minute winner to complete the turnaround.
The champions walked off with four wins from four and their perfect title defence intact. They had survived an early scare on the scoreboard and a major one in the disciplinary stakes.
Chelsea’s clean-sheet crisis deepens
The Martinez incident will dominate the debate, but it masks a more stubborn issue for Alonso: his team cannot keep the back door shut.
This latest defeat stretched Chelsea’s run to 20 consecutive Premier League matches without a clean sheet. For a club with serious ambitions and a heavily rebuilt squad, that number is damning.
Rogers’ early goal should have been the platform for a statement away performance. Instead, Chelsea retreated, invited pressure, and cracked again. The defensive frailties that have stalked them across managers and transfer windows remain, expensive signings or not.
Arsenal leave the controversy behind with momentum and points. Chelsea leave with anger, questions over VAR, and a defensive record that now demands urgent answers.
