Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta recently escaped punishment from the FA after controversial comments he made about Premier League referees, and this decision has now been slammed by Jamie Carragher.
The former Liverpool defender has criticised the decision made that Arteta had not broken any rules when he branded the referee and VAR team a “disgrace” after Arsenal were beaten by Newcastle in controversial circumstances.
It emerged that the defence used by Arsenal and Arteta was that the Spaniard had been mistranslated, with the manager claiming that the meaning behind his word was the same as Spanish word “desgracia,” which means ‘bad luck’ rather than the aggressive connotations held by “disgrace.”
Jamie Carragher slams FA decision over Mikel Arteta
Speaking on the Stick To Football Podcast, Carragher claimed that whilst Arteta had been criticised harshly for his exuberant celebrations on the touchline, the decision not to punish him after the Newcastle game was a poor one.
“What I would say is some of the bookings he has got, the over-celebrating, you just think there is no need for that,” he stated.
“But I do think he shouldn’t have got away with – once he’d been charged for what he’d been said after Newcastle – and the defence was there was a translation difference between what you say about a disgrace in Spain. That was a nonsense.”
Mikel Arteta’s lucky escape
Arteta landed himself in hot water with his comments as he appeared to tear into the refereeing standards within the league following a heavily unfavourable set of decisions against his side.
Given his eagerness to criticise the decisions on the day, when he was clearly angry in the aftermath of the 1-0 defeat, Carragher perhaps has a point that Arteta intended to slam the FA officials.
There was some surprise that no punishment had been handed to Arteta, but Arsenal fans were in support of their manager, given the decisions that have gone against them this season.
The Newcastle game saw Anthony Gordon score the winner after what appeared to be a foul by Joelinton on Gabriel Magalhaes, whilst midfielder Bruno Guimaraes should have arguably been sent off early on for violent conduct after a challenge on Jorginho.
Arteta has since watched his words in his post-match interviews, but was handed a startling yellow card during Arsenal’s win over Brighton on Sunday, and he will likely continue to come under extra scrutiny.
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