Off the Hook! Arsenal boss Arteta cleared of misconduct
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has avoided FA hammer after being charged over comments he made about refereeing following last month’s 1-0 defeat by Newcastle.
Arteta called the video assistant referee’s decision to allow the Magpies’ winning goal at St James’ Park “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”. He was later charged with misconduct.
But the FA said that an independent Regulatory Commission found the charge to be not proven after a hearing.
“It was alleged that his comments constituted misconduct in that they were insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or brought the game into disrepute,” the FA added in a statement.
In the written reasons for the charge not being proven, it was revealed Arteta claimed that: “The word ‘disgrace’…’has a very similar spelling and pronunciation to the Spanish ‘desgracia’.
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“The Spanish word has connotations of misfortune, tragedy or bad luck rather than the connotations of the English equivalent which suggest contempt, dishonour or disrespect.
“While the English meaning may lead to interpretations of abuse or insult, this was not the intended meaning.”
The winning goal for Newcastle had three incidents that led to a long check by VAR first whether Joe Willock had taken the ball out of play in the build up, then if Joelinton had fouled Gabriel to set up the goal, and finally whether Anthony Gordon was offside when he scored.
In his written comments, Arteta said his players were told by members of the opposition that the ball had gone out of play, despite VAR being satisfied it had not.
Arteta also claimed that his comments in the interviews “derived from a passionate desire to improve standards and not simply pick up on perceived injustices suffered by [Arteta] or [Arsenal] during the match”.
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The Gunners boss felt his comments did not fall within types of behaviour referenced in a section in the FA’s ‘Essential Information for Managers, Owners and Directors – 2023/2024’ addressing ‘Media Comments and Social Media’.
Arteta emphasised his commitment to the improvement of standards “with the aim of ensuring that any similar incidents are dealt with as efficiently and accurately as possible”.