- Newcastle defeated Arsenal by 1-0, thanks to an controversial Anthony Gordon goal
- Arteta said that the refereeing had made him feel ’embarrassed and ashamed’
- Howard Webb, the PGMOL’s chief executive officer, defended his decision to permit the goal.
After Arsenal’s controversial defeat by Newcastle United, the Football Association has charged Mikel Arteta for his tirade against referees.
Anthony Gordon scored the winning goal on the day, sparking a wave of furious criticism from Arteta fans and Arsenal supporters for the way he finished off the move that required VAR to check for the ball leaving the field of play as well as a possible foul by Joelinton against Gabriel Magalhaes.
Arteta called the decision “disgraceful”, and said he was ” embarrassed and ashamed ” by the officials’ handling of the match. The FA has now charged the Arsenal manager for his remarks.
A statement stated that “Mikel Arteta was charged for a violation of FA Rule E3.1 after comments he made to the media following Arsenal’s Premier League match against Newcastle United, on Saturday 4th November,”
It’s claimed that the comments are misconduct because they insult match officials, or harm the game, and/or discredit the sport.
Michael Arteta must respond to the charge by Tuesday, 21st November.Joelinton & Gabriel clashed at the time of moving / Stu Forster/GettyImages
Howard Webb of the PGMOL, the chief overseeing all officials in England and who is responsible for the PGMOL, has defended his decision to award the goal despite Arteta’s protestations.
He told Sky Sports Match Officials Mic’d Up that he saw the ball get very close to goalline. “Don’t forget, we have an assistant referee right there,” he said. The ball is not moving fast as it approaches the goalline, and he can see the line better than our cameras.
We know that the ball can overhang the line because it’s curved. But we still need proof. Joelinton challenges Gabriel when the ball crosses over. The foul could have been a penalty, or it may not. VAR determines that the video evidence is not clear enough for it to review the playback for an obvious error. After a great deal of discussion, it seems that the opinion of those who have seen this situation is divided.
It is very difficult to determine exactly when Joelinton left the field in one of these unusual situations. Again, there is no conclusive proof that Gordon was onside at the time when he was touched by the ball. VAR went over that thoroughly and found no evidence for intervening to reverse the goal. “The process was actually correct”.
