#3 The Battle of Old Trafford: FA’s sanction of £175,000 against Arsenal was the largest ever for close to 13 years
It was during the nascent stage of the fabled Invincibles season of Arsenal when they travelled to Old Trafford looking to keep their then 7-match unbeaten run going. The first 80 minutes of the match were ominous to what was to follow. Patrick Vieira was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 80th minute before referee Steve Bennett awarded Manchester United a penalty in the last minute of the game for a foul on Diego Forlan by Martin Keown.
Ruud van Nistelrooy stepped up to take the spot kick as Jens Lehmann tried to put him off. The Dutchman crashed his penalty against the crossbard and all hell broke loose. Arsenal players Martin Keown, Lauren, Kolo Toure, Ray Parlour, and Ashely Cole confronted Van Nistelrooy with Keown jumping in front of him and Lauren pushing him on the back.
Although Van Nistelrooy was escorted away by Manchester United captain Roy Keane, the incident was far from over as other Red Devils players including Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo amongst others joining the melee.
In the aftermath of the incident, four Arsenal players were banned and sanctioned heavy fines, while Arsenal received a £175,000 fine by the FA – the largest ever in the history of the Football Association, until it was surpassed by Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea last season, who were fined £225,000 and £375,000 respectively.
Ashley Cole of Arsenal was also fined but was not suspended while Ronaldo and Giggs of Manchester United also received sanctions.
