TalkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara has had a go at Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for his comments about refereeing decisions that went against his side in the game against Newcastle United.
It has been nearly two weeks since that incident occurred, but people are still talking about it. The FA confirmed this week that Arteta has been charged for his comments, and he has until Tuesday to respond. O’Hara has now called for the Arsenal boss to be banned.
Jamie O’Hara says Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta should be banned
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta felt a number of decisions went against his side in their defeat to Newcastle United two weeks ago.
Bruno Guimaraes could’ve and probably should’ve been sent off, while there was a shout for Eddie Nketiah to get a penalty. The most controversial decision of all, however, was Anthony Gordon’s winner in the second half.
Arteta branded the decision to award the goal as ’embarrassing’ and a ‘disgrace’, and his comments received all sorts of reactions from people in the game.
Chris Sutton had a go at the Spaniard, while Arsenal legend Thierry Henry claimed he was ‘surprised’ to see Arteta talking about the incident a few days after it happened.
Now, after the FA charged Arteta, Jamie O’Hara has called for the £158,000-a-week (GiveMeSport) Spaniard to be banned.
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He said on talkSPORT: “I think he’s out of order. The decision he is moaning about, we all know the referees can have a bit of a stinker and VAR has let teams down but (Wolves boss) Gary O’Neil should be the one who is coming out and making statements because he has had some howlers.
“That decision that went against him (Arteta) against Newcastle, I have looked at it back on the Sky Sports stuff when they have looked at it and gone through the process.
“It wasn’t conclusive that the ball was out, it wasn’t a clear and obvious error that it was a foul on Gabriel, it’s a goal. Alright it took time, it took a few minutes and that’s frustrating and they can improve that to make things quicker but the decision was right.
“For him to come out and slaughter the referees when referees are taking enough stick at the moment, it just puts more pressure on referees and more stick coming their way. I think he is out of order, I think he deserves a ban.”
Arteta could face a ban
There is a very big chance that the FA will hand Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta a ban.
The Telegraph reported this week that “The Football Association will seek tough punishment for clubs who criticise referees” after they charged the Spaniard for his comments.
The FA’s statement alleged that Arteta’s words “constitute misconduct as they are insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or bring the game into disrepute.”
It will be interesting to see how Arteta and Arsenal will respond and what punishment, if any, he will receive next week ahead of the Premier League game against Brentford.