Arsenal have been sanctioned by the FA for a rule breach in their third round defeat to Manchester United last season. The punishment for breaking a ticket allocation regulation has seen the Gunners slapped with a suspended £500,000 fine after United were only given 8,000 seats for their cup clash when they are entitled to 15 per cent of the ground.
For that requirement to be met, 9,000 tickets should have been offered to United, but Arsenal argued that due to safety rules it could not meet that request.
These attendance rules are different in the Premier League with a lesser allocation able to be offered. This is often why away ends look far larger in cup matches.
United attempted to reach a compromise on the matter but received no such response from Arsenal which saw their complaint taken to the FA. Roughly 10 months on from the clash, the outcome of their investigation has now been revealed.
A statement read: “The Professional Game Board (PGB) has sanctioned Arsenal FC for breaching the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192 in relation to its third round tie against Manchester United FC on Sunday 12 January 2025.
“It was alleged that Arsenal FC had breached the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192, and the matter was referred to the PGB for consideration.
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“The PGB concluded that Arsenal FC had failed to comply with the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192 and imposed a suspended £500,000 fine.
“The fine is suspended pending Arsenal FC’s confirmation that it is able to comply with this requirement for the 2025-26 FA Cup third round and continued compliance for any further rounds of this season’s competition.”
The full statement posted to the FA’s website read that “the away club shall have the right to claim up to 15% of the tickets issued (up to a maximum of 9,000)”.
Arsenal faced similar issues in the previous season when meeting Liverpool at Emirates Stadium in the third round. Having now been hit with a suspended fine, it will be vitally important that Arsenal do not repeat such a decision or at least find a safe way to allow it.
Being drawn away from home is one solution or alternative be drawn to face a team that may not sell 9,000 tickets, but both of those are out of Arsenal’s hands.
Their journey in this season’s competition will start in early January with the draw coming prior to that.
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