Arsenal's Fabregas charged for spitting incident

Soccer Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been charged with two counts of improper conduct following the spitting storm which overshadowed last month's FA Cup clash with Hull City.

Fabregas was not part of the Gunners side which won a quarterfinal encounter 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on March 17.

However, his conduct after the final whistle when he entered the field of play and was alleged by the Hull management team to have spat in their direction, led to an investigation by the Football Association.

Tigers boss Phil Brown claimed the Spain midfielder spat at his number two, Brian Horton, and called on the FA to take action.

Brown has also been charged with improper conduct following comments he made after the game concerning referee Mike Riley.

"Fabregas faces two charges of improper conduct relating to his conduct on the pitch following the game," confirmed an FA statement. "One charge concerns his behaviour in coming onto the pitch after the final whistle, the second charge relates to an alleged spitting incident. The charges are based on submissions from Hull City and video evidence.

"Brown is charged with improper conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute in relation to media comments made after the game concerning referee Mike Riley. Fabregas and Brown have until May 12 to respond."

Meanwhile, a bemused Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has revealed his surprise that his skipper is facing any disciplinary action over the incident.

Fabregas could face a domestic ban if found guilty of the improper conduct charges.

"I personally looked at the reports, at the video evidence and there is nothing in there against Cesc," claimed Wenger. "I don't know if we will appeal. I will see what we can do about that.

"At the start, I am not a great fan of appealing because I said we are very open to co-operate and now I don't think we should stop that. I am very positive that there was enough evidence in what I have seen that the case should have been dropped."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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