Arsenal coach banned and fined over misconduct
An Arsenal academy coach has been handed a three-match ban by the Football Association after reportedly insulting a female referee. A disciplinary hearing found Alex Nicholas guilty of two charges of misconduct.
- Alex Nicholas, Arsenal youth coach, has been handed a three-match ban along with a £400 fine by the Football Association
- Nicholas reportedly insulted a female referee
- The academy coach was found guilty of two charges of misconduct after a probe
Alex Nicholas, Arsenal youth coach, at the club's academy has been handed a three-match ban and fined £400 by the Football Association after reportedly insulting a female referee.
A disciplinary hearing found Alex Nicholas guilty of two charges of misconduct after a probe into the matter establishing he called the referee a "little p****."
Nicholas is said to have been involved in an altercation with the match official during an encounter between his Arsenal youth side and Reading.
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Two coaches drawn from the Reading technical bench who provided evidence accused Nicholas of "behaving aggressively" during the match.
FA's lawyer observed the altercation left the female referee hurt as she even refused to shake hands with the Arsenal tactician after the match.
Nicholas however denied the allegations, but the hearing panel could not hear any of that, ruling the Arsenal coach was at fault.
Arsenal coach Alex Nichols (right) has been banned and fined by the FA. Photo: Twitter/Alex_M_Nicholas.
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"We remain of the view that it is highly unlikely that the referee would have misheard ‘ok, fine’ for ‘how classy, little p**** ,’" the panel ruled.
Arsenal has since confirmed the suspension of Nicholas in the wake of the incident.
"At Arsenal we do not accept or tolerate behaviour of this nature. We took appropriate action, suspending the coach immediately the allegation was brought to our attention," UK Metro quoted an Arsenal spokesperson.
"This was the first allegation of this nature in his long coaching career and has been warned about his future conduct," he added.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Arsenal fans have been left unhappy after the Premier League fixture were released which showed that they will play three of the top six teams in their first seven matches next season.
The Gunners faced Manchester City and Chelsea last season in their opening league fixtures where they recorded back-to-back losses.
Unai Emery's men will now travel to St. James' Park to play Newcastle of matchday 1, then host Burnley before things get tricky.
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Source: Legit Nigeria