FA charges Fulham coach Arbeloa over referee comments after Manchester United draw
Abdullateef Fowewe
Fulham manager Álvaro Arbeloa has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association after claiming match officials did not want Manchester United to lose following a dramatic 1-1 Premier League draw at Craven Cottage.
The charge relates to Arbeloa’s post-match interview on 20 September, when his side led through a Lisandro Martínez own goal before Matheus Cunha’s deflected 89th-minute equaliser rescued a point for Michael Carrick’s United.
Arbeloa was particularly angry about a free-kick awarded to Harry Maguire on the halfway line just 35 seconds before the goal.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “All fouls for them. You can see before they scored, the foul against Maguire, he’s a guy who is 100 kilos. Every decision was for them.”
He linked the decisions to the previous weekend’s Manchester derby, in which a controversial VAR call allowed Erling Haaland’s winner for Manchester City to stand.
“And I knew. I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here.
“We deserved a little bit more,” Arbeloa added.
The FA statement said, “Alvaro Arbeloa has been charged with misconduct for comments made after the Premier League fixture between Fulham and Manchester United on Sunday, 20 September. It is alleged that the Fulham manager acted in an improper manner by making comments in a post-match interview that imply bias and/or question the integrity of a match official. Alvaro Arbeloa has until Thursday, 1 October to provide a response.”
Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid defender and coach who took charge of Fulham in the summer, remains without a Premier League win. The Cottagers had started the afternoon bottom of the table and looked set for a first victory of the season before the late equaliser. The Spaniard has previously shown a fiery side on the touchline, including a red card in a pre-season friendly.
Managers have regularly faced fines or bans for publicly questioning the integrity of officials. Arbeloa now has until Thursday to respond to the charge.
