Arsenal News: Gunners' Punishment in Newcastle Scrum Makes Little Sense

Arsenal have found themselves subject to some serious punishment today after Saturday's match with Newcastle devolved into a brawl, but the potential sentence hardly fits the crimes committed. 

The Gunners were tied 0-0 with the Magpies in the 75th minute, when forward Gervinho was taken down near the box by Newcastle's Chiek Tote. The foul was a questionable one at best, but the situation was exacerbated by Newcastle hothead Joey Barton. 

Barton grabbed the Gunner scorer by the jersey and gave him a shove, prompting Gervinho to slap the 28-year-old mental marvel. Barton promptly went to the ground and prompted Gervinho to be sent off for his conduct. As a result, the Gunners and Magpies have been charged with failing to control their players, while Gervinho has been banned for three matches as a result of his conduct, according to an ESPN Soccernet report. 

How does that make any kind of sense? I get that Gervinho flopped; the 24-year-old's dive was a bit on the ridiculous side, but he was clearly provoked into a fight by the always volatile Barton, who has completely escaped punishment at this stage. 

Let me start by saying that this incredulity doesn't extend to Alex Song. The Arsenal midfielder blatantly stomped on Barton's leg earlier in the match, and he deserves the three-match ban he got from the league.

How does Gervinho get a three-match ban for reacting to Barton after Barton started the entire fight? If it were just punishment from during the match, it would make sense; the official's back was turned when Barton decided to blow his top, so Gervinho's actions looked unprovoked.

But this punishment came from the FA, after a day-and-a-half of reviewing the tape. How does it make sense to let the Newcastle midfielder walk off with no repercussions for blatantly starting a fight with Arsenal?

Even stranger is the claim by the FA that both teams failed to control their players. While this was a hard-nosed match, it was hardly out of control. Song and Barton both acted improperly, but that doesn't sound like a lack of control to me.

Odds are good the result will just be a fine, but the charge is still a bit excessive. Song's tackle was vicious, but other than a pair of isolated incidents, the Gunners hardly exhibited a lack of control in a physical match. It may be standard operating procedure whenever there's a brawl, or a group argument, but this hardly seems like a fitting punishment to me. Arsenal and Newcastle are absolutely right to appeal these charges, and if the FA is smart, they'll drop them. 

Barton has allegedly been punished enough with the yellow he was assessed during the scuffle, but that would only equate to a one-match ban should another yellow be received. How does the instigator of all of the trouble come off without a single ban to his record? 

I'm not saying that Gervinho was right to shove Barton; he lost his cool and had no business hitting the Newcastle midfielder. But Barton's actions were such a blatant act of baiting a fight and angling to get the Ivorian suspended that there needs to be more action here. He's a hothead who needs to be taught that those actions are inexcusable. 

If you're going to suspend the Ivorian for three matches, you have to suspend Barton as well. If you don't suspend the instigator, what message does that send to the rest of the Premiership about baiting? All the FA accomplishes by letting Barton off free is telling players of all ages that it's okay to try and provoke fights. 

It's not fair to Gervinho, and it's not fair to Arsenal. Hopefully the FA will come to their senses and deal with this incident in a more fashion than they have. But given their track record, something tells me it's not going to happen.