Fulham's Arbeloa Charged by FA Over Referee Remarks

The Football Association has charged Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa with misconduct over comments he made after the 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Craven Cottage on 20 September. The FA alleges he "acted in an improper manner by making comments in a post-match interview that imply bias and/or question the integrity of a match official." Arbeloa has until Thursday, 1 October to respond.

Matheus Cunha's deflected goal in the 89th minute rescued a point for Michael Carrick's side after Lisandro Martinez had put Fulham ahead with an own goal early in the second half. Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Arbeloa said the referee had given "all fouls" to United, singling out a decision involving Harry Maguire before the equaliser.

"You can see before they scored, the foul against [Harry] Maguire, he's a guy who is 100 kilos. Every decision was for them. And I knew. I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here. We deserved a little bit more," Arbeloa said, referring to a contested VAR decision in United's win over City the previous weekend.

Arbeloa took charge at Fulham in the summer and is still without a league win.

A finding against Arbeloa would add to a testing start to his Fulham tenure, and the charge means the FA's focus over the coming days sits as much on his choice of words as on Carrick's stuttering United side.