Mikel Arteta has escaped punishment for the remarks he made following Arsenal's 1-0 defeat against Newcastle in November.
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Arteta avoids punishment for referee rantCalled the officiating "embarrassing"Comments made after 1-0 loss to NewcastleGettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Anthony Gordon's goal against the Gunners last month saw Newcastle win 1-0, but Arteta called VAR's decision to let the winning goal stand an "absolute disgrace." During the goal itself, there were three distinct events which were checked, including whether the ball had gone out of play, a push on Gabriel and an offside. Arsenal subsequently released a statement backing their manager, while the FA filed a misconduct charge for his rant. An independent committee has now determined that the charge against the Spaniard is unfounded.
AdvertisementWHAT THE FA SAID
A statement from the FA read: "An independent Regulatory Commission has found the charge against Mikel Arteta for an alleged breach of FA Rule E3.1 to be not proven.
"The manager was charged following various comments in media interviews after Arsenal’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday 4 November.
"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 also provided further written reasons and highlighted how "the word ‘disgrace’…‘has a very similar spelling and pronunciation to the Spanish ‘desgracia’…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.”
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The decision means that Arteta will not face a sanction which could have seen the manager banned or fined. Despite the loss, the Gunners held on to first place for the next four gameweeks and only fell to second place last weekend when they lost to Unai Emery's Aston Villa courtesy of John McGinn's goal. Arteta's side sit in second presently, just one point behind Liverpool.
WHAT NEXT FOR ARTETA?
Arteta missed Arsenal's 1-0 loss against Aston Villa at the weekend after he picked up a yellow card in their 4-3 win over Luton Town, his third of the season. Luckily for the Gunners, he will be present on the sidelines when they take on Brighton on Sunday, December 17.