14 December 2023 , 16:04
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Mikel Arteta has avoided punishment for his comments following Arsenal's controversial defeat to Newcastle.
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 last month thanks to Anthony Gordon's strike but Arteta branded VAR's failure to rule out the goal as an "absolute disgrace ". There were three separate VAR reviews within the goal itself, including the ball potentially going out of play before an apparent foul on Gabriel.
Arteta was subsequently handed a misconduct charge by the FA (rule E3) for using comments that were "insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or bring the game into disrepute.”
An independent commission has now found the charge to be unproven after agreeing it was not Arteta's intention to insult the match officials. The Arsenal boss insisted he was instead acting in the wider interests of the game amid concerns over VAR.
Within the written reasons, the commission also refers to Arteta suggesting the word 'disgrace' has a similar spelling and pronunciation to the Spanish word 'desgracia' - which instead has connotations of misfortune and bad luck rather than contempt.
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The independent commission also referred to Liverpool's defeat to Tottenham back in September, with the Premier League seemingly backing Arteta's argument by acknowledging the current weaknesses with VAR.
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."
Mikel Arteta was incensed after his side lost to Newcastle United (PA)Speaking after the match, Arteta said: "It is embarrassing, it’s an absolute disgrace, that’s what it is: a disgrace. There’s so much at stake, we’ve put in so many hours to compete at the highest level and you cannot imagine the amount of messages we’ve had saying this cannot continue.
“It’s not acceptable, there’s too much at stake. I don’t want to be in the hands of these people. I don’t know how to feel. I’m wasting my time, we are wasting our time. It’s difficult enough to compete against Newcastle – they are a really good team, but we have to talk about how the hell this goal stood. It’s an absolute disgrace it was allowed. For more than one reason it should not be a goal.
“I have been in this country more than 20 years and [the officiating] is nowhere near the level of the best league in the world. I feel sick to be part of this. I feel sick. It’s not a goal, it’s not a goal.”