Official: Arsenal receives a heavy penalty in England

The FA confirmed Arsenal was fined £500,000 for not providing the mandatory ticket allocation to Manchester United during the previous season’s FA Cup third round match, following the “Gunners” decision to cut 1,000 tickets for safety reasons.

According to the official announcement from the Football Association (FA), Arsenal breached ticket allocation regulations within the framework of the FA Cup by only giving Manchester United 8,000 tickets for the match held at Emirates Stadium, which is 1,000 fewer than the 15% quota required by the competition rules. The Gunners argued this decision was made to ensure spectator safety, as the upper tier at Emirates posed a risk of loss of control if fans stood throughout the game.

However, Manchester United expressed dissatisfaction and submitted multiple complaints to the FA. “We are disappointed not to have received the full ticket allocation as stipulated. United is always willing to cooperate to guarantee the safety of all spectators, including assigning tickets to children, families, or charity workers,” the visiting team’s representative stated clearly.

Man United later requested the reallocation of the cut tickets to emergency service personnel or participants in FA community projects, but Arsenal refused again. As a result, those seats remained empty throughout the match despite Emirates Stadium’s 60,000-seat capacity.

In the latest statement, the FA’s Professional Game Board announced a £500,000 fine for Arsenal. However, this penalty is suspended until the club proves it can fully comply with ticket allocation rules during the 2025-26 FA Cup season and subsequent rounds. “The fine will be enforced immediately if Arsenal breaches the regulations again this season,” the FA emphasized.

Arsenal defended their stance by stating they allocated 13% of tickets to the visiting team, arguing that the FA’s rule specifies “up to 15%” rather than a mandatory full 15%. The final decision was made by the Safety Advisory Group, which includes club representatives, local authorities, and emergency agencies. Previously, Liverpool applied a similar allocation due to concerns about the away fans’ location at Emirates.

Despite the dispute, Manchester United advanced by winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw in extra time, with Joshua Zirkzee scoring the decisive goal last season. This incident sparked criticism of Arsenal and forced the FA to tighten ticketing regulations to prevent similar unfair situations in future seasons.

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