Manchester United have overtaken Arsenal as the most fined Premier League side this season, having paid out a whopping £202,000 to the Football Association.
United were slapped with a £65,000 fine on Thursday for surrounding the referee to appeal for a penalty in their chaotic 3-1 win over Fulham last month. Erik ten Hag’s side were punished after admitting a charge of failing to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion in the 71st minute of the game after Willian handballed to prevent Jadon Sancho’s shot from going in.
After United’s protests, Willian was shown the red card, while Aleksandar Mitrovic and manager Marco Silva were also dismissed in furious scenes. United have now also been punished for their part in the chaos.
The FA are keen to crack down on abuse of referees and have dished out over £1.3million of fines altogether this season. Fifteen of the Premier League ’s 20 clubs have been fined at least once, with Newcastle, Brentford, Leicester, Bournemouth and Southampton the only top-flight sides not to have been punished by the FA this campaign.
United have now been fined on three separate occasions this season. They were hit with a £82,000 fine in October after being punished for surrounding the referee in games against Newcastle and Chelsea.
Ten Hag and his players were frustrated not to be awarded a penalty following challenges on Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle on October 16. Referee Craig Pawson waved away the appeals, as well as Callum Wilson ’s after a challenge by Raphael Varane, sparking exasperated reactions.
United were then punished again after disputing the decision to award Chelsea a penalty six days later on October 22. Jorginho put the Blues ahead from the spot after Scott McTominay brought down Armando Broja in the box before Casemiro equalised late on in a 1-1 draw.
Then, in February, United were fined £55,000 for their involvement in an on-pitch brawl with Crystal Palace that saw midfielder Casemiro red-carded. Casemiro had put both hands around the neck of Palace midfielder Will Hughes and it was during the altercation that around 20 players became embroiled in a heated disagreement.
After the game, Ten Hag claimed that his players were merely trying to protect each other.
"We get some warnings about our team reacting like this,” he said. “You have to do it, you have to protect each other, but we want to keep our standards and values at Man United. You can't cross lines, but you have to stick together. We have to stand up for each other."
United’s total of £202,000 in fines means they have now surpassed Arsenal ’s tally of £185,000, which have been racked up by fines of £20,000, £40,000, £60,000 and £65,000 for incidents in November, January and February.
The two clubs are well ahead of the rest of the Premier League’s worst behaved sides, with Everton (£115,000), Man City (£75,000), Nottingham Forest (£73,000), Leeds (£70,000), Liverpool (£55,000) and Crystal Palace (£55,000) next on the list.
