Arsenal facing FA investigation over crowd unrest in Man City defeat

The Football Association are expected to open disciplinary proceedings after Arsenal supporters were seen throwing projectiles at Manchester City's Rodri during Saturday's game.

Rodri popped up with an injury time winner to seal a 2-1 victory for City, after which he threw off his shirt and went to celebrate wildly in front of the Arsenal fans - perhaps unknowingly.

The Spanish midfielder was then hit by bottles and toilet roll from a number of Arsenal fans, many of whom were frustrated to see Rodri consistently avoid a yellow card during the game despite a number of scrappy fouls.

A fan also managed to get on to the pitch at the Emirates, before the two sets of supporters clashed after City fans let off flares.

The Times expect referee Stuart Attwell to include the incidents in his post-match report, which would lead to a formal investigation from the FA.

On top of charges involving failure to control fans, Arsenal are also waiting to see whether any of their players will face punishments stemming from their actions towards the referee during the game.

Centre-back Gabriel, who was sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession, reacted furiously towards Attwell following his dismissal, clapping sarcastically as he left the pitch.

Ben White was also caught on camera giving the officials some particularly animated handshakes after the game, slapping the referee's hand before walking away.

Arsenal were undoubtedly unfortunate not to come away with at least a point from this game, having dominated the first half and defended for their lives after the red card, after which they lamented inconsistencies from the VAR.

The video referee penalised Granit Xhaka for light contact on Bernardo Silva for City's equalising penalty but did not even check a collision between Ederson and Martin Odegaard in the first half. While fans are divided over who fouled who, there is widespread confusion as to how VAR did not deem it necessary to review.


Source : 90min