Premier League: Arteta not sanctioned after his charge against “shameful” refereeing

Coach Mikel Arteta will not be sanctioned for his charge against the “shameful” refereeing suffered, according to him, during Arsenal's defeat in early November at Newcastle, the English federation said on Thursday.

The Spaniard was under threat of suspension for having sharply criticized the decision to grant the only goal of the game to the Magpies, after a triple use of video assistance. “It’s shameful what happened, the way the goal was scored, in the Premier League – the championship that is presented as the best in the world,” he said. “I have been in this country for twenty years and now I am ashamed. It's a shame".

The independent commission in charge of the case ruled that the accusations against Arteta were “not proven”. The coach “did not insult” the referees in office at Newcastle and “nothing was said” about a possible “incompetence on their part”, she ruled in her conclusions, made public Thursday by the federation.

In his written defense, Arteta highlighted the fact that the word “disgrace” (shameful, in French) “has a spelling and pronunciation very similar to that of the Spanish word desgracia”, closer to “bad luck” than its English equivalent which suggests "contempt, dishonor or disrespect." “Although the English meaning could lead to interpretations of abuse or insults, this was not the meaning intended by the comments,” argued the Spaniard.

His media release had generated numerous comments in the British media, very rarely in support of him. The body managing arbitration in England had judged a posteriori that the correct decisions had been taken that day.