Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has criticised Chris Kavanagh’s decision to send off Arsenal star Declan Rice against Brighton. The ex-Premier League official has argued that the spirit of the law was not applied in the dismissal of the England international.

Rice was deemed to have delayed a restart by nudging the ball away as Brighton’s Joel Veltman lined up a quick free-kick. Kavanagh produced a second yellow card for the 25-year-old, who had been booked in the first half for a lunging tackle on the same player.

However, Hackett disagreed with Kavanagh’s decision and does not feel Rice was given enough time to step away from the ball. The 80-year-old also pointed out that the ball was still moving when Veltman tried to take the free-kick, meaning he would not have been allowed to do so anyway.

“In 2007 when boss of the PGMOL I presented this page to the then 18 professional referees. I outlined what my expectations were,” Hackett wrote on LinkedIn.

The experienced official then listed “proactive low-key management” of matches, stronger communication, better fitness, and accountability among his list of expectations.

He continued: “This weekend I sadly witnessed the send off of Declan Rice. I listened to pundits stating that the referee applied the law.

“Well did he apply the law correctly and in the spirit of the game? Did the referee enforce and allow the player time to be the appropriate 10 yards from the ball at the taking of the restart? Was the ball static at the time Rice made contact?

“Did his actions display visual or verbal dissent? Did he actually delay the restart by his actions? Was the referee proactive in preventing the incident? Why no action on the opponent of Rice who clearly kicked out, using the missing ball as an excuse.

“Why earlier in the game when a player booted the ball away from the scene of a required restart was no action taken. Rice cannot appeal two yellow cards so the matter is closed.

“The important aspect of this is offering the Referee and his colleagues the appropriate operational advice. All participants need to understand the SPIRIT OF THE GAME and avoid a similar incident in the future for the good of the game.”

Rice revealed he had apologised to his team-mates after the game and will now sit out of the North London derby on September 15. It was the first red card of his career.