Gabriel Martinelli should have been shown a red card during Arsenal ’s FA Cup defeat to Southampton, according to former Premier League referee Mark Halsey.
Martinelli played the full 90 minutes at St Mary’s on Saturday night but could not prevent Arsenal from falling to a 2-1 loss as their hopes of a treble were dashed when Shea Charles netted a late winner for Southampton .
The Brazilian was involved in a flashpoint as the Gunners chased an equaliser as he pushed referee Sam Barrott in an attempt to take a free-kick quickly.
Martinelli was booked for his actions but Hackett believes the Arsenal forward should have been sent off.
He said: "Referee Sam Barrott awarded a free-kick to Arsenal, Martinelli comes rushing in and he pushes Sam out of the way.
"Now I'm sorry, Gabriel Martinelli showed total disrespect for the match official Sam Barrott in that situation.
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"Although Sam issued a yellow card, for me it's a red card.
You just cannot put your hands on a referee, let alone push him out of the way.
“You've got to look around the country, up and down, Saturday and Sundays where we have local park referees going out and doing their games.
“What message does that send out to our local park referees?
"I thought Sam had a good game, he refereed the game well, but I think he let the refereeing community down by not sending off Gabriel Martinelli for pushing him at the award of a free-kick, so he could take the free-kick quickly."
Will Gabriel Martinelli face retrospective action?
It is understood that Martinelli is set to avoid retrospective action from the Football Association ( FA ).
Due to Barrott taking action on-field, it has been widely reported that the Arsenal star will not face any further punishment by the FA.
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Source: This article was originally published by Evening Standard
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