UEFA have banned Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for three matches for improper conduct in over his comments about the match referee after Arsenal’s Champions League game against AC Milan on 6th March.
Wenger has also been hit with a hefty €40,000 fine for his comments. This is Wenger’s third touchline ban within a year and, barring an appeal, will be a blow for the club when they return to continental competition.
Arsenal currently sit third in the Premier League and are on course to qualify for next season’s Champions League after winning seven matches in a row.
UEFA had previously handed Wenger a one-match touchline ban for an on-field rant at Massimo Busacca following his team’s last-16 exit to Barcelona last year.
The Arsenal manager was left angry with the Swiss referee’s decision to send star striker off Robin van Persie.
Wenger was then handed a another two-match ban for violating his Barcelona ban by communicating with the Arsenal bench when he was in the stands during the Gunners’ play-off tie against Udinese earlier this term.
His latest UEFA charge came after he criticised Slovenian official Damir Skomina for his performance in the second leg of this season’s last-16 tie against Milan.
Arsenal won the match at Emirates Stadium 3-0 but were knocked out 4-3 on aggregate and Wenger felt Skomina had awarded too many decisions to the Italian visitors.
Wenger said – “I was not happy with the referee tonight because I felt he gave many free-kicks in the middle of the park.
“Every time they went down a free-kick was given for them, and they sensed that very quickly and they used it very well.”
That’s one thing Wenger never managed to avoid – he is very touchy with the referees. But you have to respect him for that, too, he’s 100% behind the team and the refs often perform very poorly in Arsenal games. Why do ManU get handed so many penalties and Arsenal so few? Why do Man City players get no cards for bookable offences and Arsenal players get sent off for petty offences (if any)? When you get the same mistreatment in Europe, it clearly means the refs aren’t up to the game anymore. Changes are necessary and this outburst highlights not only Wenger’s personal issues, but also a general problem now faced by UEFA, FIFA, the FA, and all the other saintly figures.