Arsenal boss Wenger requests personal hearing over FA charge: He’ll fight to reduce ban

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will fight to keep his FA ban below three matches

The Arsenal manager accepts that he used abusive words to the fourth official Anthony Taylor for the match against Burnley on Sunday and that his behaviour in remaining in the tunnel area and making physical contact with Taylor amounts to improper conduct.

However, he has requested a personal hearing to offer mitigation over sentencing, and although privately Arsenal are resigned to some sort of touchline ban, they will fight to keep the length of the suspension below three matches.

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FA are relaunching their Respect campaign

The Gunners will travel down to Southampton late tonight for tomorrow's FA Cup game and Watford are the next opponents, both of considerably lower stature than a potential title decider against Antonio Conte's side in eight days' time.

With the FA relaunching their Respect campaign, there have been calls to make an example of Wenger with a long ban. But with previous charges only taken into account for five years, the Frenchman's sole 2010 conviction is fully spent and precedent appears to be on his side.

Alan Pardew was banned for only two games when he manhandled assistant referee Peter Kirkup in 2012. Similarly, Jim Harvey of Halifax was banned for just two matches last year despite hitting Leigh Doughty so hard it left a physical mark.

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Alan Pardew only suffered a two-game ban for manhandling referee Peter Kirkup

Arsene Wenger's moment of madness during Arsenal v Burnley
Mon, January 23, 2017

Click through the gallery for the best snaps of Arsene Wenger's moment of touchline madness during Arsenal v Burnley

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Click through the gallery for the best snaps of Arsene Wenger's moment of touchline madness during Arsenal v Burnley

Wenger knows he is very much in the spotlight and was immediately contrite in interviews after pushing away Taylor on Sunday. Yesterday he blamed tiredness after the hectic Christmas schedule.

"People who are not really involved maybe underestimate the pressure," he said. "It depends on the circumstances. Sometimes some new level of problem. Sometimes there's the level of fatigue as well. We are not equal over the year."

He also asked for clarification on where managers sent from the technical area can continue to watch the game.

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