Arsenal have been fined £65,000 by the Football Association after their players confronted referee Michael Oliver in the 1-0 victory over Wolves last month.
Myles Lewis-Skelly was controversially sent off for a challenge on Matt Doherty which prompted the Arsenal players to surround Oliver. The red card was subsequently overturned following an appeal.
The club later accepted the charge and the FA said in a statement: “An independent regulatory commission has imposed a £65,000 fine on Arsenal in relation to the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, January 25.
“It was alleged that Arsenal failed to ensure their players did not behave in an improper way around the 43rd minute, and the club subsequently admitted to this charge.”
Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card for the late tackle, which was ratified by VAR, but an appeal hearing later ruled it should not have been deemed “serious foul play”.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was infuriated by the decision, which sparked debate between pundits as to whether it should have been a sending off or not.
The FA also released the written reasons for the fine, with the aggravating factors including: “When the red card was shown, only two Arsenal players were in relatively close proximity to the referee, with none in his immediate vicinity. A number of players travelled some distance to engage with the referee following the sending-off.
“From the footage one can clearly see the intensity of the protests made by the Arsenal players. There were, at times, nine Arsenal players in very close proximity to the referee.
“The caution administered by the referee does not end the misconduct, as would be expected. The duration of the misconduct, the close proximity of the players to the referee, the number of players involved and the failure to desist/disperse when the referee indicates for them to do so all render this a serious matter and serve to aggravate the misconduct.”
Regarding any mitigating factors, the panel added: “Arsenal ought to be credited for admitting the charge.
“The red card issued to (Lewis-Skelly) being overturned on appeal does not justify the reaction of Arsenal’s players surrounding the match referee and affords no mitigation.”
