Louis Van Gaal Charged by FA: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been charged for comments made ahead of his team's FA Cup tie with Cambridge United, but the Dutchman denies the charge and plans to fight it.

Continue for updates. 

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Van Gaal Denies Charge

Tuesday, Feb. 10

The club announced on Tuesday that "Louis van Gaal denies his FA misconduct charge for media comments after last month's game at Cambridge and has requested a personal hearing."

The FA issued the following statement in a series of tweets:

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Louis Van Gaal denies FA misconduct charge in relation to media comments and requests personal hearing, date to be confirmed. The Man Utd manager was charged following The FA Cup tie against Cambridge United on 23 Jan 2015. It is alleged his comments constitute improper conduct in that they allege and/or imply bias on the part of the match referee and/or bring the game into disrepute.

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Van Gaal told reporters on Friday that he planned to fight the charges he faces from the FA, according to Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail:

Jamie Jackson of The Guardian added more from the Manchester United boss:

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Van Gaal Charged Over Comments

Wednesday, Feb. 4  

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been charged by the English Football Association for comments made ahead of his team's FA Cup clash against Cambridge United, with the FA claiming his pre-match interview alleged bias against the Red Devils.

The FA released a statement on Wednesday to confirm the charge:

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Louis van Gaal has been charged by The FA for media comments he made after Manchester United’s FA Cup Fourth Round match against Cambridge United on Friday 23 January 2015.

It is alleged that the Manchester United manager’s comments allege and/or imply bias on the part of the match referee and/or bring the game into disrepute.

He has until 6 p.m. on Monday 9 February 2015 to respond to the charge.

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Speaking to reporters ahead of the 3-0 win, the Dutch manager implied the powers that be are "against" his club, via The Guardian's Jamie Jackson:

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Everything is against you at Manchester United and everything is in favour of the underdog. Also from you [media] but you shall not do it consciously but unconsciously—it’s human—I forgive you.

In spite of all the criticism we have had from you and your [media] colleagues, we are still in the FA Cup and a lot of teams are not, so I’m still happy that we can play this match.

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Sport Witness added further comments the United boss made after the draw at Abbey Stadium, in which he stopped just short of openly criticising referee Chris Foy:

Goals from Juan Mata, Marcos Rojo and James Wilson ensured the hosts were never troubled against lowly Cambridge United on Tuesday, who had surprisingly held the Premier League giants to a draw when the two clubs met for the first time.

The FA refused to specify which comments prompted the official charge, although pundits quickly concluded criticism of Foy likely pushed the organisation over the edge. Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst was disappointed the FA took that away from the interview:

The FA has clashed with a number of high profile managers in the past two years, including Chelsea's Jose Mourinho, and ESPN FC's John Brewin believes Van Gaal, who isn't a repeat offender, is now the victim of those incidents:

The Dutch manager has until Monday to respond to the charge. If he accepts the charge or is found guilty, he could be subject to a touchline ban.