Mikel Arteta’s behaviour on the touchline is at times unacceptable and more must be done to encourage inspiring officials into the game.
That is the view of former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes Arteta’s antics on the side of the pitch during last weekend’s Premier League between Arsenal and Aston Villa were disrespectful.
The game at Villa Park, which saw Arsenal come from behind twice before eventually winning 4-2, was an enthralling contest.
However, the contest was marred slightly after the Gunners’ manager was spotted reenacting referee Simon Hooper, who gestured he had stopped play after a free kick was taken because the ball was still moving.
Sum Mikel Arteta up in ONE word ? pic.twitter.com/AZmqI0JHBL
— Barstool Football (@StoolFootball) February 18, 2023
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Reacting to the unsavoury scenes, Collymore has called for the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) to not only do more to protect today’s officials but also to help encourage the next generation of officials who may be put off following Arteta’s recent behaviour.
“What Arteta is doing, and he isn’t the only one by the way – Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho have all done it too – is to influence the referee by intimidating them,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“I understand why they do it, I get that they want to give their team a competitive edge but I don’t like it. We’re struggling to get enough top-quality officials into the game as it is and it’s no wonder why when they see a Premier League manager openly and unnecessarily mocking a referee in the middle of a game like we saw Arteta doing to Hooper on Saturday.
“It’s about time PGMOL and the other regulatory bodies got together and demanded that their officials are shown a certain level of respect because the next generation of referees will probably be looking at the kind of incidents on the weekend involving Arteta and be thinking ‘we’re allowed to be mocked and we can’t say anything back, what’s the point?’ – It’s about time benches stopped the intimidation tactics, whether that be by getting in the fourth official’s face for 90 minutes, or by taking the mickey out of the on-field referee.”
Do you agree with Collymore’s assessment? – Was Arteta out of order for behaving that way on the weekend? – Let us know in the comments.
If they are all put off they can do what you do,
talk a load of bollocks.
Sir ALex Ferguson intimidated referees for almost two decades, and as you’ve mentioned Jose, Pep and others have been also guilty of the same. I’m wondering if Arsenal were tenth in the table if it even would’ve been an issue. It seem that every seemingly minor indiscretion on Mikel Arteta’s part is now a reason to amend the rules governing managers’ touchline decorum. Smdh.