Arsenal sanctioned for rule breach in Manchester United match | OneFootball

Arsenal have received a suspended fine for breaching FA Cup rules around ticket allocations, in relation to the game against Manchester United in January.

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The FA have confirmed that the Professional Game Board have sanctioned Arsenal for breaching rule 192 of the 2024/25 FA Cup during the third-round tie against Manchester United on Sunday, January 12th, 2025.

Rule 192 states: “The home club shall comply with any request for tickets made in accordance with Rule 191.”

Rule 191 explains: “For competition matches other than a semi-final or the Final, the away club shall have the right to claim either: (a) up to 15% of the tickets issued (up to a maximum of 9,000); or (b) if the Ground is not all ticketed, up to 15% the Ground’s maximum capacity, provided that:

“191.1. the tickets are for admission to a fully segregated area; and 191.2. the request for the tickets is made within four days of the relevant draw.”

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To put it simply, Arsenal had to provide 9,000 tickets to Manchester United, and they didn’t. Instead, the Gunners gave just 7,956 tickets to their opponents.

The FA alleged that Arsenal had thus breached the rule, referring the matter to the PGB. The PGB have now concluded that the breach has been proven, imposing a suspended £500,000 fine.

The fine is suspended pending Arsenal confirming that they are able to comply with the rule for the 2025/26 FA Cup third round and the following rounds.

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Arsenal’s justification for the reduced away allocation was that there were safety concerns around seating away fans in the upper tier. But it also wasn’t possible to seat all 9,000 in the lower tier, as that would require using some of the gates needed to seat home fans in the upper tier.

Using the same gates for both home and away fans would obviously create a major safety issue.

In the end, the remaining 1,000+ seats were simply left unfilled in the upper tier, whilst the 7,956 Manchester United fans were all in the lower tier.

Although the fine has been suspended, it’s hard to see how Arsenal can comply with the rules if the same issue arises this season.