‘I think’: Gary Neville shares if Erling Haaland should’ve been sent off vs Arsenal on Sunday

Manchester City drew 2-2 with Arsenal last weekend, but this game was dominated by a number of refereeing decisions.

Indeed, Michael Oliver was at the centre of something of a storm over the weekend.

The referee made some big calls, allowing Arsenal to take a quick free kick that led to their equalising goal, while his decision to send of Leandro Trossard was controversial to say the least.

Even Oliver’s call on the added time was criticised.

Speaking on It’s Called Soccer, Gary Neville has noted another incident from this weekend’s game that he believes was wrongly dealt with.

Indeed, Erling Haaland threw the ball at Gabriel Magalhaes’ head after City’s equalising goal.

On the surface, this just seems like a bit of fun from Haaland, but Neville believes that was grounds for a sending off.

Gary Neville says Erling Haaland should’ve been sent off

Neville spoke about the striker throwing the ball at Gabriel.

“I think the fact of the matter is as a football player, if I threw the ball at Carra’s head directly in a game I think I would be red carded. I would accept that would be a red card,” Neville said.

“As much as me and Carra laughed when we saw it because it’s funny. The fact of the matter is it is a red card in football. I think if you purposely throw the ball at someone’s head you’re asking for a red card. I can see why it would be a red card.”

Erling Haaland should’ve been booked

Gary Neville believes Haaland should’ve been sent off here, but a yellow card would have sufficed.

Haaland throwing the ball at Gabriel’s head wasn’t violent conduct, he wasn’t trying to injure the Brazilian, he was simply trying to embarrass him.

It was unsportsmanlike, and that sort of behaviour should be punished with a yellow card rather than a red.

Ultimately, Haaland escaped punishment entirely, but to say this should’ve been a red card is a slight over reaction to say the least.