Written by Alistair Bayliss
Cesc Fabregas has once again been in the news this week, and it’s no surprise that it is for the wrong reasons. Whilst most would agree that he is one of the most complete midfielders in the world, there sadly exist many people who believe that he is arrogant to the core, and that he conducts himself in a manner not befitting of a captain of any club.
There are doubts as to whether this is fair though. Whilst it is almost certain that Fabregas has, on occasion, criticised an official, this is not unlike any other captain of a Premier League team…even in recent history.
Both Arsenal and Manchester United have had far more aggressive and confrontational captains in Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane. However, the criticisms levelled against Fabregas are far wider ranging than merely foul and abusive language.
On two separate occasions against Hull City and Huddersfield Town, there have been allegations of fracases with opposition players and staff. In the case of the former, the assistant manager, Brian Horton, claimed the 23-year-old had spat at him in the tunnel, whilst regarding the latter, it was asserted that the Arsenal captain had told him in no uncertain terms that he would not be giving him his shirt as a memento of the occasion.
There is a link between the two stories though, which is that neither were proven. In fact, the Huddersfield Town players concerned later retracted the comments, whilst when Hull City’s Horton was demanded to supply an account of the events. He did not take the Football Association up on the offer. Sadly for Fabregas, the lack of any formal charge or evidence to prove his guilt categorically will inevitably be overlooked.
The situation is quite clear. Although Fabregas is probably guilty of incitement, given his tetchy character, there seems to be a belief that one can accuse him of anything and it will be believed. David Moyes’ claims were completely unsubstantiated, and he refused to say what he claimed he heard. The excuses about the language being too foul to repeat are poor. If Moyes had a genuine case, he would have aired it. Again, the lack of charge against Fabregas is telling.
When the question was put to Arsene Wenger in the press conference, asking him whether there was a witch-hunt going on, he was vehement in his assertion that this bias against the Arsenal captain did exist. It does not help the image of the club, and consequently, Fabregas should try and avoid courting controversy as much as he can. However, for him to achieve this, it would help if opposing teams did not exaggerate, or simply invent, defamatory stories about him.
This article was first published on Gunnersphere.com – follow Ali Bayliss on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/Ali_Bayliss
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