Referee who 'didn’t like' Arsenal red card decision appointed for Burnley fixture

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The Premier League has announced the referee for Arsenal's upcoming match against Burnley this weekend. Mikel Arteta's side, who are currently leading the Premier League table by four points, will be hoping to extend their advantage with another victory.

The Gunners secured a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend and are now set to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon. Chris Kavanagh has been confirmed as the referee for the match, assisted by Dan Cook and Ian Hussin, while Rob Jones will be handling VAR duties.

Kavanagh was the referee during a contentious 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Brighton at the Emirates Stadium last season. In that game, England international Declan Rice was controversially sent off by Kavanagh after receiving two yellow cards, the second of which was given for kicking the ball away before a Seagulls free-kick.

Arsenal manager Arteta expressed his disbelief at Kavanagh's decision, which played a significant role in Arsenal dropping points in the title race, reports football.london .

He said: "I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.

"In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn't see the player coming and he touches the ball.

"By law, he can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10vs10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing."

The Premier League released audio from the draw between Arsenal and Brighton last season on the 'Mic'd Up' show at the time, which revealed Kavanagh said he had 'no choice' but to show Rice a second booking.

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"I don't like it, but he's knocked the ball," said Kavanagh while on the pitch. "Second yellow, for me. I had no choice, he knocks the ball away. As [Joel Veltman's] about to kick it, he knocks the ball.

"I have no choice. He's put me in an awful position. Dec, you need to go I'm afraid."

Kavanagh has taken charge of five Arsenal fixtures since the stalemate with Brighton at the beginning of last campaign, overseeing two victories, three draws and one loss.

That one defeat occurred earlier this term when the Gunners lost 1-0 against Premier League title contenders Liverpool at Anfield back in August.

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