Arsenal handed huge fine over Myles Lewis-Skelly red card protests | OneFootball

Arsenal have been hit with a huge £65,000 fine for failing to control their players in the aftermath of Myles Lewis-Skelly's controversial dismissal in last month's win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Lewis-Skelly was shown a straight red card just minutes before the half-time break for what was deemed to be "serious foul play" as he intentionally tripped Matt Doherty at the start of a potential counter. The young left-back expected a yellow card but was shown a red for allegedly catching Doherty high above the ankle.

The Arsenal squad were immediately furious with the decision and as many as nine players surrounded referee Michael Oliver - an act which saw them charged for misconduct despite the fact the red card was ultimately rescinded.

"An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed a £65,000 fine on Arsenal in relation to the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 25 January," a statement from the Football Association read.

"It was alleged that Arsenal failed to ensure their players did not behave in an improper way around the 43rd minute, and the club subsequently admitted to this charge."

The fine is more than three times higher than the typical £20,000 sanction that comes with a breach of this rule and is particularly severe because of a number of factors, including the number of players surrounding Oliver and the duration of their protests.

Also working against Arsenal was the fact this was their sixth breach of the rule since the start of 2022, the first five of which came between January 1 of that year and February 2023. Their recent disciplinary improvement, having avoided such incidents for almost an entire calendar year, helped Arsenal avoid a larger fine.