Mikel Arteta cleared of misconduct charge after Newcastle comments
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has avoided punishment from the Football Association 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”.
But the FA said on Thursday that an independent Regulatory Commission had found the charge to be not proven.
“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.
“The Regulatory Commission came to its decision following a hearing.”
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’…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 outcome of Arteta’s charge being found not proven means he can return to the dugout for the visit of Brighton on Sunday, after serving a one-match touchline ban in last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Aston Villa for accruing three yellow cards this season.
BBC
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