Declan Rice appeared to trip Morgan Rogers off the ball during Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea before Rogers became the incident’s only booked participant.

The confrontation occurred in the 83rd minute at the Emirates Stadium as Chelsea searched for an equaliser.

Rogers attempted to make a forward run when Rice extended a leg behind the play and sent his England team-mate to the ground. Referee Chris Kavanagh allowed the game to continue.

The first offence formally recognised by the officials was therefore Rogers objecting to the one they had not recognised.

Rogers immediately confronted Rice and pushed the Arsenal midfielder as the pair exchanged words. Players from both sides arrived to separate them before Kavanagh showed Rogers a yellow card.

Rice received no punishment for the initial challenge.

Rogers’ shove made his booking understandable. The absence of any punishment for the action which caused it made the overall disciplinary process slightly harder to follow.

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey subsequently argued that Rice should also have been booked, describing the trip as a cynical attempt to prevent Rogers joining Chelsea’s attack.

Rogers had earlier given Chelsea the lead after just 77 seconds, scoring against the club that attempted to sign him from Aston Villa during the summer. Kai Havertz equalised for Arsenal before Martin Ødegaard completed the comeback shortly after half-time.

The defeat was Chelsea’s first of the Premier League season, while Arsenal maintained their perfect start to their title defence.

Rogers was guilty of retaliating, but Rice’s contribution survived without any paperwork.

One player supplied the trip, the other supplied the reaction, and the referee booked the half of the incident he happened to see.