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Breaking Premier League news is Arsenal Football Club has been fined £65,000 by the Football Association (FA) following an independent Regulatory Commission’s decision that the club did not do enough to ensure that its players behaved in an orderly manner during the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 25, 2025.
The sending-off in question was in the 43rd minute of the match when Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly was given a straight red card by referee Michael Oliver for tripping Wolves’ Matt Doherty. The decision provoked instant and furious responses from Arsenal players, with up to nine of them hurrying to the referee to complain about the sending-off. While the red card was ultimately withdrawn on appeal three days later, the players were fined for their behavior by the FA following the initial ruling.
In its press release, the FA said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has issued a fine of £65,000 to Arsenal in connection with the Premier League fixture at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, January 25. Arsenal were accused of not preventing their players from.”
The written reasons of the Regulatory Commission identified some aggravating factors which produced the level of the fine:
Number of Players Involved: Video showed that sometimes nine Arsenal players were close to the referee, so the protest was more intense.
Duration and Intensity: The protests were long-lasting, and players did not disperse even when the referee waved them away.
Distance Covered: Some players covered a great distance to get to the referee after the red card decision.
The Commission stressed specifically the acceptation by players of refereeing rulings, reporting: “Football games are always studded with refereeing rulings about which players later complain vociferously and unjustly. Football clubs must ensure that players accede to the referee’s decision even though players feel bitterly in their conscience that the referee had erred.”
Though protesting the charge, the club maintained that the wrongful character of the dismissal justified the players’ behavior. The Commission, though, expressed that the latter’s upturning of the red card did not reduce the misconduct, stating: “The overturning on appeal of the red card given to Lewis-Skelly does not justify Arsenal’s players’ response to the match referee and brings no mitigation.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was seething after the match, but he also admitted players need to keep their heads in those circumstances. Arsenal managed to cling to a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers with ten men, and Riccardo Calafiori scoring the winner.
The incident has reminded the FA of its position regarding upholding standards of players’ behavior as well as the necessity of sticking to decisions made on the pitch.
Serves them right. Hope they lose the EPL race