Mikel Arteta will not face any consequences from the Football Association for his criticism of refereeing during Arsenal’s contentious loss against Newcastle in the previous month.
Mikel Arteta expressed his frustration with the officiating, specifically the decision not to use video assistant referee, after Anthony Gordon scored a goal in the Gunners’ 1-0 defeat. He described it as “embarrassing and a disgrace.”
Arteta faced accusations of violating Rule E3.1, which involves damaging the reputation of the sport and could have led to a suspension. However, he has since been absolved of any misconduct. If Arteta had been found guilty, there were no specific penalties in place, but a fine or ban from the sidelines were possible consequences.
The regulatory commission ruled that the charges were not proven and in their written explanation, it was disclosed that Arteta stated: “The word ‘disgrace’… has a similar spelling and pronunciation to the Spanish word ‘desgracia’… the Spanish word carries a meaning of misfortune, tragedy, or bad luck, rather than the English definition which implies contempt, dishonor, or disrespect. Although the English interpretation could be seen as abusive or insulting, this was not the intended meaning.”
Stuart Attwell, the referee, gave the goal, however, fans of Newcastle had to wait longer as the VAR checked three times to determine if the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock’s pass, if Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães, and if Gordon had been offside. After the match, Arteta expressed his frustration and anger, stating, “We need to discuss how this goal was allowed. Unbelievable. I feel ashamed,” said the 41-year-old Spanish coach, who also exclaimed that he felt “sick” about the decision.
According to the commission’s written statement, Arteta’s emotional state was heightened when he was informed by certain Arsenal players that Willock, a former Arsenal player, believed the ball had gone out of play before crossing into the penalty area.
Arsenal’s loss put an end to their undefeated beginning, and Arteta consistently criticized the ruling and the VAR procedure. He expressed, “It’s truly disgraceful. We have so much on the line and have invested countless hours to compete at the top level. We’ve received countless messages stating that this cannot go on. It’s humiliating.”
The club issued a statement in support of their manager, Mikel Arteta, after he made remarks about the poor refereeing and VAR mistakes during their game on Saturday.
Arteta has stated that he will continue to express his concerns regarding what he believes to be subpar decisions made by officials. Howard Webb, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, has defended the decision to award Gordon’s goal and the use of VAR, stating that there was no conclusive proof of offside and the process was followed correctly.
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The head of Ref Support UK, an organization that advocates for referees, shared their disappointment with the commission’s decision. Martin Cassidy stated, “I think this is just a clever way for KC to spin the outcome rather than a fair one.” He also added, “If these comments and behaviors are considered acceptable in today’s football, it will be a challenging path for match officials.”
Cassidy reprimanded Willock for not addressing the referee if he thought the ball had gone out and urged the FA to challenge the commission’s ruling.
Source: theguardian.com
