Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg insists Craig Pawson's decision to send David Luiz off was incorrect with Arsenal expected to appeal the defender's dismissal against Wolves on Tuesday night.
Luiz was sent off by Pawson in first-half injury time minute at Molineux after accidentally clipping the leg of Wolves striker Willian Jose in the penalty area as he tried to get back into position.
Having reviewed the incident with video assistant referee Jon Moss, Pawson sent Luiz off with the decision then changing the dynamic of the game as, having been in the ascendancy prior to that, Arsenal found themselves on the back foot.
Luiz's exit also carries an immediate one-match ban, denying Mikel Arteta his services for this weekend's Premier League clash against Aston Villa, with Arsenal now hoping to have the decision overturned.
Writing in the Mail, Clattenburg, who served as a Premier League referee between 2004-2017, believes the wrong law was applied by Pawson and Luiz should have merely been yellow carded.
"David Luiz was incorrectly sent off after giving away a penalty at Wolves — it should have been a yellow card," Clattenburg said.
"The Arsenal defender made accidental contact with Willian Jose as he ran clear on goal and that caused the forward to fall. No one can dispute it was a foul and the award of a penalty was the right decision.
"However, a law exists that protects teams from conceding a penalty and losing a player to a red card if a genuine attempt to play the ball has been made.
"Luiz was genuinely trying to get back on terms with Jose and it was an accidental foul.
"This type of incident is accepted as a penalty and yellow card. Referee Craig Pawson and VAR Jon Moss got it wrong.
"The law was meant to see players sent off after conceding a penalty only if they had deliberately fouled an opponent to deny a clear scoring opportunity. Arsenal and Luiz should feel aggrieved."
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno was also sent off in the second half for handling the ball outside of the area, as Adama Traore threatened to break free on goal, and will also serve a one-game suspension but Clattenburg admits the officials got that decision correct.
"They can, however, have no complaints about goalkeeper Bernd Leno being red-carded for deliberate handball," he added.
"He denied a clear goalscoring opportunity by using his hand outside the penalty area."
