Aston Villa’s Victor Manas has been given a three-match stadium ban and a fine for a clash with Arsenal’s Miguel Molina last season.

James Benge reports that Aston Villa’s Victor Manas has been handed a three-match stadium ban, an £8,000 fine, and a warning over his “improper and violent” behaviour in the 94th minute and in the tunnel after Arsenal’s win at Villa Park in February.

A former Arsenal employee during Unai Emery’s time with the club, Manas had clashed with Arsenal’s Miguel Molina. The charges against Molina were withdrawn and he was given a warning.

The FA had been called in to investigate a confrontation between the two, which broke out in the press box in stoppage time after Arsenal scored their third goal to take a 3-2 lead in the game.

Manas was allegedly irritated by Molina’s celebrations after Jorginho’s shot ended up in the back of the net via Emi Martinez’s head.

Stewards intervened to diffuse the situation and Molina was ejected from the media area.

According to the tabloids, Manas slapped Molina, but both men were then ejected.

The analysts spoke after the game to clear the air, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta vowed to look into the matter before deciding if they needed to take any action.

“Like anything that happens in the stands, we will look at it and address it and take action if necessary,” Arteta said then.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said he had not seen the incident but would ask about it.

Almost a full six months later, we finally have a decision on the incident, and it seems the investigation confirmed that Manas was primarily at fault in the confrontation.

That’s good to see, as you would hope that over-enthusiastically celebrating a goal and slapping someone wouldn’t be considered equivalent acts.