Arsenal charged by the FA over Myles Lewis-Skelly red card incident | OneFootball

Arsenal have been charged by the FA over the behaviour of their players during Saturday's Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

The game was dominated by the decision of referee Michael Oliver to send off Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly in the closing stages of the first half, upheld by VAR at the time.

Although replays showed Lewis-Skelly to have caught Matt Doherty recklessly on the ankle, there was outcry from Arsenal players, fans, and a number of media personalities over the decision, largely due to the location on the pitch near the Wolves box.

Oliver even required police protection as a result of despicable threats sent his way. But the FA later opted to rescind the red card, overturning a three-game suspension, following Arsenal’s appeal.

Despite that success, the reaction of Arsenal players in the heat of the moment still contravened FA rules over conduct on the pitch. As such, the Gunners are now facing a fresh charge after their players behaved in an "improper manner" by surrounding the referee.

Arsenal have until Monday 3 February to respond to the charge.

Since 2023, the FA have tried to clamp down on poor behaviour from players and coaches. Ahead of last season, and supported by the 'Love Football. Protect the Game' campaign, a new participant charter distributed to clubs deep into non-league introduced stronger measures for player and others to adhere to on matchdays. Match officials are "empowered to take more robust action", supported by "stronger supplementary disciplinary action" from the FA in retrospect.