No charges after United tunnel row
City eye top trio
THE FA have decided to take no action against Manchester United and Manchester City following their Old Trafford derby bust-up.
And United boss Jose Mourinho has also escaped action over his comments before the game when he accused City of being serial divers and committing “tactical fouls”.
He is said to have had milk thrown in his direction from the City dressing room before a brawl broke out in the corridor following the match on December 10.
Around 15 people were involved in the confrontation, which left City coach Mikel Arteta with a cut below his eye after being hit by a drinks bottle.
The FA asked both clubs for their observations on the incident, but will be taking it no further after studying the evidence.
Angered
Their statement said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by the clubs and independent eyewitnesses, the FA will be taking no formal action.”
The FA was limited to eyewitness accounts with no CCTV evidence available.
Mourinho is understood to have been angered by the volume of City’s dressing room celebrations after a 2-1 win that took them 11 points clear of their neighbours at the top of the Premier League.
He demanded that City toned down their behaviour, and then became involved in a shouting match with goalkeeper Ederson ® before more players and staff piled in.
Before the game Mourinho had argued that referee Michael Oliver needed to look out for City fouls when United tried to catch them on the counter-attack.
The Portuguese also claimed he would not be allowed to make a political statement on the touchline like City manager Pep Guardiola, who has been wearing a yellow ribbon as a symbol of protest against the jailing of politicians in Catalonia.
But despite taking no action, the FA have reminded Mourinho that any further public comments relating to match officials could result in disciplinary action. UNITED have claimed on their own website that they have a tougher festive schedule than any of their rivals at the top of the table.
They say Mourinho’s side have a total of six non-matchdays over Christmas and New Year and claim no club has fewer, while Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham have all been given three more.