Arsenal's Unai Emery Avoids Ban, Fined by FA for Kicking Water Bottle

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association for kicking a water bottle that struck a fan during the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Boxing Day.

Per BBC Sport, the Spaniard was charged with improper conduct for kicking the bottle, but he will not serve a touchline ban.

A spokesperson for the FA said Emery had "accepted the standard penalty" for the charge.

Emery was quick to apologise after the incident. "I said to them I'm sorry," he said. "[The kick] wasn't hard but [the bottle] touched one supporter."

Sky Sports provided his full response:

In 2016, Jose Mourinho was fined twice the amount and handed a one-match ban when he kicked a bottle during a 1-1 draw between Manchester United and West Ham United.

He had already been hit with an improper conduct charge a month prior, leading to a harsher punishment, though he was also sent off at the time of the incident by referee Jon Moss.