Arsenal hit with yet another FA charge

So far this season Arsenal have been hit with four FA charges for ‘failing to control players’, for incidents in the games against Manchester City, Newcastle, Oxford United in the FA Cup, and Leeds United.

On top of that, analyst Miguel Molina was charged this week with improper/violent conduct following a coming together with Aston Villa counterpart Victor Manas during our 4-2 win over Unai Emery’s side in February.

Thus far, the club have paid £125,000 in fines, and now face another charge for what the the FA describe as a deliberate decision not to fully cooperate with Premier League rules on media commitments.

The section in the FA handbook reads as follows:

Before 31 July each year, each Club must confirm to the League whether, in respect of each League Match throughout the Season:

K.126.1. each of the Players listed on its team sheet will walk through the Mixed Zone when exiting the Stadium following the League Match; or

K.126.2. a minimum of six of the Players listed on the team sheet will walk through the Mixed Zone when exiting the Stadium following the League Match and the Club will ensure that each Broadcaster in attendance in the Mixed Zone is able to interview at least one such Player.

K.127. Having made the election referred to at Rule K.126, above, each Club must ensure that it complies with its chosen approach at each League Match.

Arseblog News understands that at the beginning of the campaign, the club confirmed that a minimum of six players would carry out these duties for each home game.

However, it is alleged that on multiple occasions fewer than six players passed through the Mixed Zone, with one home game cited when just two were available for post-game broadcasters.

This led to a situation when one of those players, Ben White, had to do multiple interviews with various outlets. There was a lot of online enjoyment of the defender’s dead-pan responses to questions when one clip was shared on Twitter, but this is in part due to the fact this was his 11th interview and he was fed up as the delay caused him to miss an important appointment at his local tanning salon.

An Arsenal source told us, “There is definitely a feeling inside the club that someone is out to get us.

“It’s one thing when players get a bit carried away in the heat of an important game, but this is beyond the pale. It’s crazy to think that one broadcaster – and we think we know who it is because he’s been complaining publicly about us and our manager all season – could potentially have such a significant impact on our season.

“While once or twice the numbers were not where they should have been, and we accept that, the players and the manager have fulfilled all their media duties without complaint this season.

“We will fight this … hard.”

While any punishment is likely to come in the form of another fine, there is the outside possibility that a points deduction could be imposed.

There isn’t a great deal of precedent, but in the 2001-2 La Liga season, Racing Santander’s then chairman, Miguel-Angel Mentiras called Spanish rights holders Canal+ “bastard sons of piss-drinking bitches”, and refused to sanction the release of his players for media duty.

They were subsequently fined €100,000 and docked two points, narrowly escaping relegation on the final day by virtue of a last minute winner against a Levante side that featured on loan Arsenal striker Stathis Tavlaridis.

There’s no doubt the FA have got their sights trained on Arsenal this season, but we’ll just keep fingers crossed that there are no further charges between now and the end of this exciting season.