No FA Fine for Van Gaal Over Referee Attack

United manager denied the charge of criticising referee Chris, but was found guilty at a hearing held by a commission.
No FA Fine for Van Gaal Over Referee Attack

LONDON: Louis van Gaal has escaped a fine for criticising the performance of referee Chris Foy during Manchester United's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Cambridge United last month, with the Dutchman being warned over his future conduct following a hearing yesterday (Wednesday).
Van Gaal was charged with "alleging and/or implying bias" as a result of his comments about Foy after the 0-0 draw at the Abbey Stadium.

"We know in advance everything is against us," Van Gaal said after the game. "We have to come here, the pitch is not so good but that can influence also that you play in another style and the opponents are always giving a lot more than normally and defending is always easier than attacking. And then you have seen the referee, it's always the same.

Everywhere I have coached these games, and I have coached them with other clubs it's always the same."

The United manager denied the charge, but was found guilty at a hearing held by an independent commission. He did not attend.

In a statement, the Football Association said: "Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today [Wednesday], Louis Van Gaal has been warned as to his future conduct after he was found to have breached FA Rules in relation to media comments.

"The Manchester United manager denied that his comments which followed the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Cambridge United on 23 January 2015 alleged and/or implied bias on the part of the match referee, and/or brought the game into disrepute."

United's opponents in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, Arsenal, have been forced into investigating travel options for as many as 9,000 supporters planning to attend next month's clash at Old Trafford, following the BBC's decision to broadcast the game on a Monday evening.

The game is due to kick off at 7.45pm at Old Trafford on March 9, with the BBC opting against screening the tie at the weekend in favour of it being played immediately after the draw for the semi-finals earlier that evening.

But with the last train to London scheduled to leave Manchester Piccadilly at 9.15pm, and no flights from Manchester to London after 8pm, thousands of Arsenal supporters are faced with making a 400-mile round trip back to the capital by road.

Arsenal are entitled to receive up to 9,000 tickets and will finalise their allocation with United over the next 24 hours, but the club have already announced that they will attempt to help supporters to avoid potential travel difficulties.

"In the wake of this [fixture] announcement, the club is exploring a number of options to help our travelling supporters get back to London afterwards," an Arsenal statement read.

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