Official body says Arsenal's Gabriel should have seen red against Man City

The Premier League’s independent Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has officially ruled that Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães should have been sent off during last month's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City. 

The KMI is a five-person committee, established during the 2022/23 season, tasked with retroactively reviewing major refereeing decisions for accuracy.

The ruling centres around an 82nd-minute altercation where the Brazilian centre-back was initially pushed by City striker Erling Haaland. As the pair separated, Gabriel thrust his head toward the Norwegian international's face. 

On the pitch, referee Anthony Taylor opted to issue both players a standard yellow card, and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) John Brooks chose not to intervene. 

However, the KMI panel has now officially concluded that Gabriel’s "extra head movement forward" constituted violent conduct and definitively warranted a straight red card.

​The retroactive decision was far from unanimous, with the panel narrowly voting 3:2 in favour of an expulsion. Interestingly, despite the majority agreeing that Taylor made an on-pitch error by not sending Gabriel off, four of the five panel members still supported Brooks’ decision not to intervene, ruling that the incident did not cross the threshold of a "clear and obvious error" required for VAR interference. 

While Gabriel successfully escaped punishment during the match, a red card for violent conduct would have triggered an automatic three-match suspension. 

Given his fundamental importance to Mikel Arteta’s defensive structure, losing Gabriel for subsequent crucial fixtures would have dealt a massive, potentially fatal blow to Arsenal's intense pursuit of the Premier League title.