OFFICIAL: Premier League releases urgent announcement regarding Man City vs Arsenal match

The incident involving Gabriel Magalhaes confronting Erling Haaland sparked public controversy, but the Premier League has provided a clear explanation for the decision not to issue a red card.

The "final" match of the season between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad on the evening of April 19th was not only thrilling due to the close score but also due to heated confrontations. The focus of attention centered on the 83rd minute, when defender Gabriel Magalhaes appeared to headbutt Erling Haaland after a fierce dispute.

The incident began with Gabriel's tight marking, which angered Haaland. After being pushed down, the Norwegian striker stood up and retaliated with a forceful push. Immediately, Gabriel moved close to his face and made a headbutting motion towards his opponent. Despite strong protests from Man City, referee Anthony Taylor only issued yellow cards to both players, and the VAR team, after reviewing, also decided not to intervene to upgrade the punishment to a red card.

To quell conflicting public opinions, the Premier League organizers issued an official statement on social media: “The referee's decision not to issue a red card was reviewed and confirmed by VAR – Gabriel's action was assessed as not excessively aggressive or violent.”

Former FIFA referee Mark Halsey also agreed with this ruling, but he offered an interesting perspective by suggesting that Haaland's attitude actually helped Gabriel avoid punishment: “It's a subjective matter... If you look at Haaland, I think he helped Gabriel a lot by staying balanced. We've seen in previous matches, players fall down and the referee issues a red card. I think Gabriel has a lot to thank Haaland for.”

On his part, Haaland admitted he does not have a habit of feigning injury to gain advantage: “I think if I had fallen to the ground, he probably would have received a red card. But it's over now, I won't fall down.”

The confrontation between these two "giants" remained tense throughout the match. Prior to the headbutting incident, Gabriel completely tore Haaland's sleeve during a dispute outside the penalty area. The image of Haaland playing with a torn shirt demonstrated the intensity of the battle.

Despite avoiding a red card, Gabriel and Arsenal still could not prevent Haaland from shining. The Norwegian striker scored the decisive goal, helping Man City secure a 2-1 victory, thereby narrowing the gap with Arsenal to just 3 points and taking control of their destiny in the title race while still having one match left to play.