The Professional Game Board (PGB) has sanctioned English Premier League club Arsenal for breaching a rule in relation to its third round FA Cup tie against Manchester United earlier this year, alleging that the club had not allocated the correct amount of away tickets.
Arsenal allegedly breached the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192 regarding its match against fellow Premier League club Manchester United on January 12, 2025.
The rule states that for competition matches other than a semi-final or the final, the away club shall have the right to claim either up to 15% of the tickets issued (up to a maximum of 9,000) or if the ground is not all ticketed, up to 15% of the ground’s maximum capacity provided that the tickets are for admission to a fully segregated area and the request for the tickets is made within four days of the relevant draw.
The PGB concluded that Arsenal had failed to comply with the 2024-25 FA Cup Rule 192 and dished out a suspended £500,000 (€574,000/$664,000) fine.
Arsenal’s fine has been suspended pending the club’s confirmation that it is able to comply with the requirement for the 2025-26 FA Cup third round, and continued compliance for any further rounds of this season’s competition.
Premier League and Championship clubs enter the FA Cup from the third round.
According to reports, Manchester United was only supplied with roughly 8,000 tickets for the game at the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium.
The match saw Manchester United advance to the fourth round after beating Arsenal in a penalty shootout.