Happy New Year, Arsène.
Arsène Wenger has been charged by the FA after his comments about Mike Dean’s refereeing in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with West Brom at the Hawthorns.
When asked whether he had been given an explanation from Mike Dean about the controversial decision to award West Brom a penalty in the 89th minute, Wenger responded:
“No, he saw what he wanted to see and we have to deal with that”
The Arsenal boss does not believe this is an isolated incident, elaborating that:
“It was very disappointing in the way it [the West Brom penalty] happened. I must say what is more frustrating for me is that it happened many times this season – at Stoke, at Watford, at Man City, at West Brom. That is a concerning coincidence for me.”
Mike Dean gestured with his arm what he believed Calum Chambers to have done to give away the penalty, lifting his elbow up, implying that it was an intentional movement from the Arsenal defender. But watching replays, Chambers had his arm in front of, but not lifted away from his body.
The Frenchman went on to criticise the state of refereeing in general across all Premier League games, berating a supposed lack of professionalism.
“There are only two countries where there are professional referees in Europe and that’s England and Italy so, of course, you want them to have the time to improve and raise their level, which is maybe not confirmed, not only by my judgment but as well by the referees’ judgment.”
Wenger also called for the introduction of Video Action Replays to aid referees in circumstances such as these, as well as complaining that the fixture schedule over the Christmas period gave some teams more recovery time than others.
Unsurprisingly, José Mourinho had similar complaints about the fixture schedule and may also face charges. United have played four matches in nine days, which would be difficult for any team, but it was his accusation that “Some managers have good friends in the right chairs” which may land him in hot water.
"Some managers have good friends in the right chairs and I don't have them."
Jose Mourinho reveals why he won't make an official complaint about #MUFC's schedule. #PL pic.twitter.com/Hatkq0TKmM
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) January 2, 2018
