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BBC pundit thought the referee treated £60m Arsenal player very harshly vs Porto after ‘total accident’
Neil Lennon could not believe that Kai Havertz was shown a yellow card last night as Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat to Porto.
The Northern Irishman made the comments when covering the UEFA Champions League clash for BBC Radio 5 Live.
So, what did Neil Lennon say about Kai Havertz? Let’s take a look…
Neil Lennon stunned by Kai Havertz yellow card
Well, Serdar Gözübüyük certainly did not hesitate to blow his whistle last night – nor was the Dutch referee scared of getting his yellow card out.
The 38-year-old booked Declan Rice in just the 2nd minute while also blowing for a total of 22 fouls from the Gunners.
No side has committed more fouls in a UEFA Champions League match since 8th December 2021.
While Arsenal were admittedly sloppy at times, Gözübüyük was occasionally harsh, with his decision to book Havertz an example of that.
Speaking about the incident, Lennon : “How is that a yellow card for Kai Havertz?
“It was a totally innocuous challenge, Varela came in on his blindside and he caught him with the elbow. It was a total accident. Nothing Havertz could do there at all, all he was trying to do was protect the ball.”
Fortunately, the Germany international will not miss the second leg of the Round of 16 clash as a result of the yellow card.
Lennon also felt that Leandro Trossard went missing against Porto.
How Kai Havertz performed in Arsenal defeat
Unfortunately – despite a string of excellent performances across recent weeks – Havertz was poor against Porto.
WhoScored shows that the German failed to have a single shot on target, while he also completed just passes inside the Estádio do Dragão – the lowest of any outfield Arsenal player to last the entire 90 minutes.
Havertz also struggled to get involved defensively, recording just one tackle but failing to make a single interception or block.
It was a difficult night for the Arsenal No.29 in Portugal, but hopefully, he can help turn the result around in the second leg.