Premier League club sanctioned for committing FA rule breach against Man Utd as punishment handed out

Manchester United headed into the international break in slightly better spirits after a third consecutive home win meant the Red Devils rose into the top half of the table.

Ruben Amorim’s side followed up recent victories over Burnley and Chelsea with a more comfortable 2-0 win against Sunderland, in one of their best performances so far this term. While newly-promoted Sunderland at home is a fixture United should always be expected to win, the reality is that the Black Cats came into the match on better form and could have been a tough test. Fans were also impressed by goalkeeper Senne Lammens on his United debut following his deadline-day arrival.

United have spent almost the whole of 2025 in the bottom half of the Premier League table, and so fans will be encouraged to see the Red Devils in 10th place in the league. Even if that is ultimately still far off where the club aim to be come the end of the season and beyond.

Arsenal punished by FA for breaching ticketing rule against Man United

The FA released a statement on Friday that Arsenal have been sanctioned with a £500,000 fine over an incident which took place surrounding the Gunners’ FA Cup tie with Man United at the Emirates earlier this year.

“The Professional Game Board (PGB) has sanctioned Arsenal FC for breaching the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192 in relation to its third round tie against Manchester United FC on Sunday 12 January 2025,” read the statement.

“It was alleged that Arsenal FC had breached the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192, and the matter was referred to the PGB for consideration. The PGB concluded that Arsenal FC had failed to comply with the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192 and imposed a suspended £500,000 fine.

“The fine is suspended pending Arsenal FC’s confirmation that it is able to comply with this requirement for the 2025-26 FA Cup third round and continued compliance for any further rounds of this season’s competition.”

What is FA Cup Rule 192 and why have Arsenal been sanctioned?

FA Cup Rule 192 states that, in any FA Cup fixture prior to the semi-final stage, a club must allocate to the away club up to 15% of the tickets issued (up to a maximum of 9,000), or up to 15% of the ground’s full capacity if it is not fully ticketed. This is as long as all tickets allocated to the away club are in a ‘fully segregated area’ and are ‘requested within four days of the relevant draw’.

The rule ensures that away fans are given fair opportunity to attend FA Cup fixtures and that home clubs do not withhold tickets in order to minimise the size of the away end. It has been proven that Arsenal did not comply with this during their third round tie with United, which the Red Devils won on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the Emirates, leading to praise for the away side’s resolute defensive display.

Only 7,956 tickets were allocated to United, representing just 13% of the stadium’s total capacity, and Arsenal claims over safety concerns have been dismissed as the Gunners have been slapped with a £500,000 fine. More than 1,000 seats were left empty for the tie, with the fine suspended until Arsenal confirm that they will comply with the rule in the FA Cup this season. The Gunners usually allocate just 3,000 tickets to away fans in the Premier League, and this situation acts as an example to other clubs that the FA Cup’s ticketing rules must be adhered to.