Update: Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger “has been given a four-match touchline ban with immediate effect after he was charged for misconduct following Arsenal’s game against Burnley on Sunday 22 January 2017.” This is the first sentence from the Football Association statement released today.
Wenger was sent off last weekend due to his shoving of official Anthony Taylor. Referee Jon Moss evicted Wenger, and the Frenchman was charged by the Football Association.
Wenger did issue an apology and express regret after the game, but plans to plead his case for a more lenient punishment. He told a press conference on Thursday that he has accepted the charges, but that he’s also requested a personal hearing to plead his case.
Wenger explained his rationale for remaining in the tunnel following his getting sent off, as well as how he plans to handle this situation moving forward:
“I think if I am after 34 years still in the job it is because I am big enough to stand up for what I do.”
“I came out after the game and I said what I think I had to say. When I don’t behave like I think I should behave, I’m big enough say ‘yes, that’s not right’, and that’s it.”
“I don’t know if I will be punished and how I will be punished,” he said. “If I am punished, the only thing I can say is that I thought when I was sent off I was surprised and I was in the tunnel because I thought I had the right to be in the tunnel. Last time I was sent off wrongly, in 2009, I had to go in the stand at Old Trafford and I didn’t know where to go. No one tells you what you have to do when you are sent off.”
An FA statement read: “Arsene Wenger has been charged for misconduct following Arsenal’s game against Burnley on Sunday [22 January 2017].
“It is alleged that in or around the 92nd minute, he used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official.
“It is further alleged that following his dismissal from the technical area, his behaviour in remaining in the tunnel area and making physical contact with the fourth official amounted to improper conduct.
“He has until 6pm on 26 January 2017 to respond to the charge.”
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