Arsene Wenger was sent off at the end of the very heated Burnley game, and has been charged by the FA, allegedly for using the word ‘cheat’ as revealed by the Evening Standard.

Arsene Wenger has probably also been charged for pushing the fourth referee, Anthony Taylor, facing a ban and a fine although at the time of writing, the exact details of the charge are not known.

If the charge refers to the word “cheat”, it would be fair for the Arsenal manager to be able to defend himself. I mean coming with video and data evidences from the game that Jon Moss did not give a referee a fair game involving Arsenal.

It’s not hard to find multiple mistakes made by the referee that gave an unfair advantage to Burnley. You can also find examples where he gave an unfair advantage to Arsenal. The referee is there to apply the law of the game fairly, not to give an advantage to any of the teams. It is annoying that they have no accountability.

If the club and the manager were allowed to present the facts in front of the disciplinary commission and prove that the referee cheated them, a ban should not be given in my opinion. If they cannot prove their case, a long ban should be given because you cannot make a strong accusation like this without backing your words up.

Of course, the reality is if charged, Arsene Wenger will be found guilty of whatever charge is applied and won’t be allowed to defend himself and prove his case. He will even probably accept the ban and a fine straightaway.

We know referees are untouchable and, to be fair, they need protection, because without referees there is no game, they deserve respect and so on.

But they also need to be judged on their performances and if they do not get to a high enough standard, Championship, League One and Two should be happy to have them for a couple of weeks.

The downside of this policy is well-known. If demotion was in place, there would be not enough Premier League referees available two months into the season, as too many of them would be working down the lower leagues.

‘Cheat’ accusations source: Evening Standard (linked above)
Their source: Unstated