ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta has been CLEARED by the FA following his referee rant after defeat to Newcastle.
The Gunners boss was left incensed after Anthony Gordon’s winner was allowed to stand in their 1-0 Toon loss last month.
It was thought Arteta was facing a two-match touchline ban, but the Spaniard has instead been let off.
A statement 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.
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“The Regulatory Commission came to its decision following a hearing and the full written reasons for this can be found below.”
After the controversial loss to Newcastle, a simmering Arteta praised his players… before aiming both barrels at the officials.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I have praised my players for the performance and the way that we played – we didn’t deserve to lose the match.
“We lost the match because of the clear and obvious decisions. It’s embarrassing. It’s a disgrace. That’s what it is, a disgrace.”
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When asked if he will be taking up his frustrations with the PGMOL, Arteta made it clear he would be escalating things.
He said: “Yeah. We will be taking it for many months. There is so much at stake and we put in so many hours.
“I am here to represent the football club and to get my team to compete at the highest level.
“The margins are so small. It’s a disgrace. It’s embarrassing. That’s how I feel and that’s how everyone feels in that room [the dressing room].
“You cannot imagine the amount of messages that we’ve got saying ‘this cannot continue’. It’s embarrassing, I’m sorry, embarrassing.”
Arteta, 41, was handed a touchline ban last week after accruing his third yellow card of the season.
He had to watch Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa from the stands at the weekend.
After the game he stopped short of blasting officials after being left unhappy with the decision to disallow Kai Havertz’s equaliser.
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He initially told Sky Sports: “I prefer not to comment.”
Arteta then added: “Clear and obvious. Clear and obvious. That’s what I mean. That’s my opinion. That’s all I can say.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
