'He knew what he was doing' - Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes deserved 'red card'

Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes should have been sent off during Brazil's 4-2 friendly win over Australia.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the player "knew exactly what he was doing".

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Australia and Brazil played out an exciting six-goal thriller in Brisbane on Tuesday, 29 September, with late goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior.

It was far from a friendly fixture at the Suncorp Stadium, as multiple players having their names taken by the referee, including Gabriel.

Nestory Irankunda and Harry Souttar were both cautioned for the home side, and so too was Real Madrid's Endrick for Brazil.

It could have been far worse for Arsenal's centre-half, though, who found himself in trouble after a stamp-like challenge on Tete Yengi in the 40th minute.

Gabriel Magalhaes caught up in controversy

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Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett believes Arsenal's star defender, 28, should have received his marching orders against Australia.

"The offender knew exactly what he was doing. There was no attempt to play the ball, and sadly, his focus was on the player.

"His actions meet the criteria for serious foul play. He should have received a red card. Where was VAR?"

It is not the first time that Gabriel has escaped a sending off, having created a thunderstorm in the media when headbutting Erling Haaland last season.

On this occasion, once again, he managed to stay on the pitch. Had it been a proper game, and not a friendly, the outcome may have been different.

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In defence, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White are all injured, while Ezri Konsa is also expected to miss England's next game.

The biggest controversy during the international break has been the incident involving Gunners captain Martin Odegaard.

During Norway's clash against Portugal, he was caught very late by Bernardo Silva, which has caused the midfielder to miss training with a limp.

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