DBasia.news – Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi certainly escapes from sanctions from the English Football Federation (FA) despite being caught on camera did a foul to Brighton’s Neal Maupay.
The Gunners must surprisingly accept the defeat against Brighton with a score of 1-2 at the Amex Stadium on Saturday. Brighton’s goals were scored by Lewis Dunk and Maupay while the away team’s goal were scored by Nicolas Pepe.
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno was forced to leave the field on a stretcher after colliding with Maupay, which sparked a strong reaction from Guendouzi.
The Frenchman choked Maupay after he tried to apologize to Leno, but the incident was not seen by referee Martin Atkinson.
The two players clashed again after the final whistle was blown, with Guendouzi clearly seen holding Maupay’s neck in replays.
However, Atkinson again did not take further action against The Gunners midfielder.
The FA has released an official statement confirming that Guendouzi will not be reprimanded for his actions, insisting that the referee takes all necessary steps to deal with the situation on the ground.
“Matteo Guendouzi’s behavior during this incident was not seen by match officials at the time, but was later reviewed by VAR, so he will not face further action,” the statement said, as quoted by Goal on Monday (6/22).
That way, Mikel Arteta could still play Guendouzi when his team travel to St Mary’s to face Southampton on Friday.
Arsenal are now threatened not to qualify for European competition next season, after having two bad results after the English league restarted.
They lost 0-3 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium before they were defeated by Brighton. Arsenal are now tenth in the Premiere League standings with eight matches remaining.
Arsenal are 11 points behind Chelsea who are fourth and four points behind Sheffield United, who currently occupy the last Europa League slot.