Arsenal are the worst offenders when it comes to abusing referees, with Mikel Arteta’s side having been fined a whopping £185,000 this season for poor behaviour.
The Gunners are top of the Premier League table and hold an eight-point lead over Manchester City with 10 games remaining. But their success has come at a cost, with the FA frequently having to slap the club with fines for failing to control their players.
Arsenal have been fined on four separate occasions so far this season. They have been guilty of surrounding the referee to appeal for penalties following incidents in matches against Oxford United, Newcastle and Manchester City.
The Sun has tallied up the number of fines paid by clubs throughout the Premier League and the Football League in the 2022/23 season. In total £1,279,375 has been paid in fines, with 15 of the 20 Premier League clubs guilty of bad behaviour and 54 of the 92 paying fines overall.
An FA spokesperson said: “Referees and match officials play vital roles in our national sport. Any inappropriate behaviour towards them is completely unacceptable.
“Players, coaches, support staff and club officials have a responsibility to treat them with respect, and action will be taken against anyone involved in English football where there is evidence that they have failed to meet that standard."
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Arsenal have been fined £20,000, £40,000, £60,000 and £65,000 for incidents in November, January and February. They came in an FA Cup match against Oxford, a very feisty Premier League clash with Manchester City that drew two fines and also saw Pep Guardiola’s side punished and in a 0-0 draw with Newcastle.
Arteta’s behaviour on the touchline has drawn plenty of criticism, with Alan Shearer branding him “disrespectful”, while ex-Blackburn striker Chris Sutton said the Spaniard behaved like a “clown” after reacting badly to a penalty decision against Newcastle in January.
Newcastle, Brentford, Leicester, Bournemouth and Southampton are the only Premier League sides not to have been punished by the FA so far this season. City collected the biggest fine of £75,000 for their part of the chaos against Arsenal, while Manchester United and Everton have both been fined more than £100,000 for multiple breaches of the regulations.
The problem is clear throughout the Football League, with 15 of the 24 Championship clubs, 13 in League One and 12 in League Two having been fined.
The issue of abuse towards referees is widespread with one grassroots official telling The Mirror in October that “a matter of time before someone is murdered” on the pitch. The comments came after the Merseyside Youth Football League took the decision to stop more than 70 fixtures after reports of threatening behaviour.
