Lightning has struck twice as Manchester United have been charged by the FA again for failing to control their players. The most recent charge relates to Saturday’s 1-1 stalemate at Stamford Bridge.
Casemiro sent a message to doubters of his pedigree with a 94th-minute equaliser. However, earlier in the game, Chelsea were awarded a penalty for Scott McTominay‘s foul on Armando Broja. McTominay wrestled Broja to the ground in full view of the officials, including VAR.
Jorginho converted, but not before United’s players erupted into protest.
The aggressive surrounding of referee Stuart Atwell culminated in the Red Devils’ second FA charge in under a week (via The Daily Mail).
The FA released this statement on Wednesday: ‘Manchester United FC has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 after its fixture versus Chelsea FC on Saturday 22 October 2022 in the Premier League.
‘Manchester United allegedly failed to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion in the 84th minute, and the club has until Friday 28 October 2022, to respond.’
The first offence
Eight days before the latest charge, the FA reprimanded Erik ten Hag’s team for the same behaviour in their 0-0 draw against the Magpies.
The FA charged Manchester United with a failure to control their players in the 49th minute. Ten Hag’s men surrounded referee Craig Pawson, challenging the decision to disallow Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal.
Erik ten Hag stands by his team
The Red Devils boss defended his team’s response in the Newcastle game, saying, “I don’t think it was too strong. It wasn’t really aggressive, but I don’t know what was happening exactly on the pitch; I was too far away. I saw it back on the video.”
He then went on to express empathy for his players:’Quite normal that you ask why in the moment. It was a curious incident. My view is that quickly you have to accept the ref’s decision; there is VAR; you accept and move on.’
The governing body has given United until Friday to issue a response concerning the Chelsea charge.
The club (and Erik ten Hag) will want to avoid another incident. United’s season has been shrouded in its fair share of drama already.
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