Howler! Gibbs mistakenly sent off after Oxlade-Chamberlain handball on the line

Referee Andre Marriner has issued an abject apology after he sent off the wrong player in Arsenal’s humiliating 6-0 defeat by Chelsea, which appeared to end the north London club’s title hopes.
The dreadful error from one of the Premier League’s top referees saw Marriner finally dismiss Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs on 17 minutes, mistaking him for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had dived to tip Eden Hazard’s shot away with his hand.
The error was compounded by the fact that Oxlade-Chamberlain told the referee that he had committed the offence and that Hazard’s shot appeared to be going wide, so the referee could have deemed it a yellow card, judging that it was not an obvious goalscoring opportunity
 
 
 
 
Marriner, a FIFA referee who took charge of last year’s FA Cup final, appeared confused as he made the decision, consulting with his assistants.
But even after Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted to him that it was he who had handled the ball, he stuck by his decision to send off Gibbs.
Marriner is likely to be dropped from at least the next round of Premier League games after the error.
A statement issued by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited said: ‘Andre is an experienced referee and is obviously disappointed that an error of mistaken identity was made in this case.
‘Incidents of mistaken identity are very rare and are often the result of a number of different technical factors. While this was a difficult decision, Andre is disappointed that he failed to identify the correct player.
‘He expressed his disappointment to Arsenal when he was made aware of the issue.’
 
 
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: ‘The referee made a mistake because he missed the identity of the player. He has not seen what happened at all. He gave a corner. I don’t know who told him that it was a penalty. The referee should be able to change his mind, especially if he has not seen it. He should at least check, rather than sending off the wrong player.’
It is expected that Oxlade-Chamberlain will serve the one-match ban rather than Gibbs but it again exposed the embarrassment that can be caused by not allowing the referee to consult with an official who has access to a television replay, a practice opposed by FIFA.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said that the incident demonstrated the need for referees to be able to consult television replays. ‘The sending-off is a big ammunition for people like me that think that one little screen in front of the fourth official is a big help against this kind of mistake.
'The important thing is that the penalty is a penalty and there is a red card — we don’t know who, but we know there is a red card.