LONDON, (Reuters) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was charged by the Football Association yesterday of improper conduct following the Premier League match at Sunderland.
Sunderland’s Darren Bent scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time on Saturday to give the home side a 1-1 draw, provoking Wenger’s wrath.
The 60-year-old Frenchman lost his cool and angrily remonstrated with match officials, furious over the time added on by referee Phil Dowd. In a statement on its website (www.thefa.com) the FA said Wenger had been charged with “using insulting and/or abusive language and behaviour amounting to improper conduct”.
Under the FA’s new fast-track procedures he has until Thursday to respond to the charge.
Wenger has been offered a standard sanction of a one-match touchline ban and an 8,000 pounds ($12,500) fine should he accept the charge.
If he denies the charge the case will be heard by a regulatory commission. The fourth official had indicated a minimum of four minutes additional time on Saturday.
Bent’s goal, with the last kick of the game, cancelled out Cesc Fabregas’s first-half effort and denied Arsenal the chance of going top of the table for at least 24 hours.
