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Following the news that Brazilian wonderkid Richarlison was cleared of simulation by the FA’s retrospective diving panel, Arsenal have complained to the FA, claiming that “the big clubs always get the big decisions in their favour”. A letter of complaint was sent directly to The FA at 10:00 on Monday morning and was promptly forwarded onto the Watford Gazette at 10:02 with the caption “LOL”. In the letter, Arsenal express the need for officials to be unbiased when officiating games involving teams with ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League: “you have to look out for the smaller clubs” the letter reads, “here we have a classic case of ‘big club syndrome’, a club aiming for the Champions League against one looking for the Europa League and it’s come as no surprise that Watford have got the big decisions throughout the game and even after. How are we supposed to compete against such a big club when they get decisions in their favour such as the penalty and the offside second goal?”. The Watford Gazette has been forwarded a draft response from The FA, which states “we at the FA apologise for any inconvenience caused. Any big decisions during a game are immediately determined by a club’s ambitions for the season. Watford now sit in 4th and Arsenal in 6th, which we believe accurately reflect both club’s ambitions this season, therefore automatically the big decisions will go in Watford’s favour”. The response continues: “we try to even these things out as much as possible and so we’ve asked Michael Oliver to referee Watford’s visit to Old Trafford later in the season”. The Watford Gazette understands that 5th placed Chelsea are similarly concerned about the arrival of Watford next weekend and are reported to have drafted a letter of complaint already.

@WatfordGazette