The FA will impose a heavy fine on Arsenal after Chelsea held them to a hard-fought 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon. The Blues found enough motivation to extend their undefeated run to seven games across all competitions, keeping the Gunners within six points of them in the Premier League standings despite Moises Caicedo’s early red card threatening to ruin a cagey but composed contest.
A stop-start match resulted in six bookings in the first half alone, thrusting referee Anthony Taylor into the spotlight for most of the opening exchanges. Shortly after the second half started, a header from a corner by Trevoh Chalobah proved to be both the Gunners’ own medicine and the spark they needed, as Mikel Merino quickly got the equaliser.
Mikel Arteta’s team, who already believe they might have gained more from the game given their numerical advantage, would be even more embarrassed if they were fined for violating a little-known regulation. In the end, that is how the score would remain.
Arsenal set to be hit with FA fine after feisty Chelsea battle
When you take into account last season’s antics, which saw players like Myles Lewis-Skelly at the core of many red-card incidents as Arteta’s team was written off for being too passionate, you can see that Arsenal has been somewhat more disciplined.
They had the fewest bookings of any Premier League team before their trip to Stamford Bridge (12), but after receiving six more over the weekend, they will now be fined £25,000 for exceeding the limit for bookings in a single game.
According to Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail, a Premier League side that receives six or more yellow cards in a single game faces a £25,000 punishment. As more crimes are committed, the penalties rise. For instance, a team is fined £50,000 the second time they receive six or more yellow cards and £75,000 the third time. Penalties increase for future infractions of the cap.
