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FA charges Wilshere over City gesture

By on December 17, 2013
Jack Wilshere has been charged for allegedly making an offensive gesture towards Manchester City fans.

Jack Wilshere has been charged for allegedly making an offensive gesture towards Manchester City fans.

The English Football Association have charged Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere over a gesture made towards Manchester City fans during Arsenal’s 6-3 loss at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.  Wilshere was videoed raising his middle finger towards home fans in the second half of the match, yet the incident was not seen by the referees which will mean Wilshere is likely to face a ban and small fine from the FA.

The FA waited to make a decision until the referees’ published the match report and referee Martin Atkinson revealed observations following the Premier League game, but still charged Wilshere with “making an offensive and/or insulting and/or abusive gesture.”

Wilshere has until 6pm GMT on December 18th to respond to the charges, which will likely yield a one match ban and £20,000 fine, to which Luis Suarez was charged with after making a similar gesture to Fulham fans in December 2011.  The 21-year-old is expected to accept the charges after The Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger admitted the club would be willing to face charges “if he did it”, even though the ban would mean Wilshere would miss out on Chelsea’s crucial visit to the Emirates on Monday.

The FA added that the incident was charged as a result of the organization’s new pilot scheme, saying in a statement on their official website: “Arsenal midfield player Jack Wilshere has been charged by the FA with making an offensive and/or insulting and/or abusive gesture.

“The charge follows an alleged gesture made during the fixture between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 14 December. The incident was not seen by match officials, but was caught on video.

“Wilshere has been charged retrospectively by the FA under a new pilot project for potential ‘not seen’ incidents in Premier League matches.

“Under the new process, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel will be asked by the FA to review it and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time.

“For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the panel were unanimous.

“Wilshere has until 6pm on 18 December to respond to the charge.”

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.