Ahead of the crucial Premier League clash against Manchester United this weekend, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has learnt his fate with the English Football Association concerning the charge against him after the scuffle involving him during the 2-2 draw at home to Burnley on Monday.
Sarri had reacted angrily to what was said by a member of the Burnley coaching staff at Stamford Bridge and as a result, the Blues boss has now been fined £8,000 (N3.8 million) after admitting to the FA’s misconduct charge.
It was announced on Wednesday that the Chelsea boss had been charged with misconduct and on Thursday the FA confirmed he had been fined for his actions. “Maurizio Sarri has been fined £8,000 after he admitted a misconduct charge from The FA and accepted the standard penalty,” the FA said in a statement on Thursday.
The fine comes without a touchline ban, meaning he would be available to lead Chelsea out for the crunch clash at Old Trafford on Sunday, in which a win for Sarri’s team would further boost their chances of finishing in the top four while pretty much ending United’s chances of making the Champions League spots.
With three games to go, Chelsea are fourth with 67 points from 35 games played, a point ahead of Arsenal in fifth place while United lie three points behind the Blues in sixth place having endured a run of seven losses in their last nine games in all competitions.
Recall that Sarri was given his marching orders for his angry reaction during the melee involving players of both clubs deep into stoppage time of the match which saw the Blues fail to close up on third placed Tottenham Hotspur – although Arsenal did them a favour by losing at Wolves on Wednesday night.
The Italian stormed down the touchline to vent his frustration at the visitors and as result was ejected his usual seat. The events left an unsavoury taste between both sets of players at full-time, with several squaring-up after the final whistle.
Even after the match was over, Sarri was still steaming from the incident as he did not conduct his post-match media duties after apparently being left incensed by the decision to be sent off by the match officials.
Reports later emerged suggesting Sarri had been the target of a discriminatory insult by someone from the Burnley dugout, however there was no mention of this in the FA statement. “The reason is he’s very frustrated, so he’d prefer not to come over here,” Chelsea assistant Gianfranco Zola said after the match.
Zola, who previously featured for the London club during his playing days, added: “He’s been sent off. I think he’s been offended as well, so he didn’t feel it was the right thing to do, to speak to you [the media].”
Chelsea’s assistant, who also revealed that Sarri had also been frustrated by the Clarets’ alleged time-wasting, went on to say: “I think he’s been told something from their bench, but don’t ask me exactly what. I don’t want to go down that line, but we’ll see what we can do about that.”
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