Arsenal have been sanctioned by the FA following their clash with Wolves.
The Gunners earned a vital 1-0 victory in their bid to claw back ground in the Premier League title race on January 25, but it didn’t come without having to be worked for – or controversy.
Mikel Arteta’s side spent more than half of the game playing with 10 men after defender Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off by referee Michael Oliver for a trip on Wolves’ Matt Doherty.
Following the call, Gunners players surrounded Oliver, with the likes of Gabriel and Declan Rice involved in voicing their opinions and displeasure at the call. It was eventually overturned. Still, Arsenal won 1-0 thanks to Riccardo Calafiori’s second half goal, with Joao Gomes of Wolves also shown a red card 20 minutes from time.
Now, the FA have confirmed that Arsenal have been fined £65,000 for for their players behaving in an ‘improper way’ when Lewis-Skelly was sent off. A report read: ‘An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed a £65,000 fine on Arsenal about the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 25 January.
‘It was alleged that Arsenal failed to ensure their players did not behave improperly around the 43rd minute, and the club subsequently admitted to this charge.’
In his extraordinary incident report, Oliver wrote: ‘Following the 43rd minute dismissal, several Arsenal players surrounded myself to protest at the decision.’ Arsenal, meanwhile, argued: ‘The wrongful nature of the MLS’s (Lewis-Skelly) dismissal explains why the AFC players justifiably wanted to speak to the referee and for him to reconsider his decision
‘The players were understandably emotional following the Incident, which explains their actions. The AFC players were civil and not aggressive. They were not gesticulating or accusatory. They did not behave in a way which was offensive, violent, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting or provocative.
‘The AFC players simply wanted the referee to reconsider the decision and to find out what the outcome would be after any VAR review.’ Other points included Gabriel being the ‘main representative’ and mostly having a hand behind his back, and that the decision could have impacted their season.
Arsenal did, however, admit the charge.