Arsenal rabble-rouser Jack Wilshere has been hit with an FA misconduct charge after he led the crowd in a series of offensive songs about local rivals Spurs during the club's FA Cup victory parade in London on Sunday.
In the footage, broadcast on Arsenal TV, Wilshere takes the microphone and leads the crowd in a call and response chant that runs: "What do we think of Tottenham?" "S**t!" "What do we think of s**t?" "Tottenham!".
He then conducted the fans in two more chants, one of which contained even more swearing. The club broadcaster was forced to apologise for his actions during the live programme.
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The diminutive midfielder could now face a ban or a heavy fine. That is a galling prospect for the injury-prone star as Arsenal had said they would be taking the matter no further.
Despite the FA's decision, the Daily Mirror reports that the player has not broken the England team's code of conduct and will be free to join up with his international teammates next week.
Arsenal have until 10 June to respond so its likely Wilshere will play in Sunday's England international against the Republic of Ireland with the charge hanging over him.
"It calls into question the relevance of the code of conduct if it doesn't even cover an FA misconduct charge," notes the paper.
This is not the first disciplinary incident Wilshere has faced over the course of his relatively short career. Indeed, the player was warned over very similar conduct when he conducted similar songs in the Gunners FA Cup victory parade last year.
Wilshere has also come in for criticism for his repeated smoking indiscretions. In February, the 22-year-old was pictured holding a shisha pipe, while in October 2013 he was also photographed outside a nightclub with a cigarette.
Wilshere's chequered disciplinary record had prompted some question whether he will ever fulfil his potential at the Emirates, while Arsenal's summer transfer dealings could leave the midfielder on the fringes of the Gunners squad next season.
Wilshere mocks Spurs after FA cup win, as Arsenal target title
01 June
Arsenal spent Sunday celebrating their FA Cup final rout of Aston Villa with an open top bus parade through the streets of north London. The weather was as unkind to the Gunners as they had been to Villa the previous day in thrashing them 4-0, but the rain did little to dampen the spirits of the players or public.
Theo Walcott, who scored the first of Arsenal's goals at Wembley, spoke to Sky Sports from the squad coach en route to the celebration. "We just showed it has been a great success this year, it has been a step up, to finish third (in the Premier League) and win the FA Cup in consecutive years," he declared. "We want more and more of this. These players have the trust in each other and this has got to be a stepping stone now to challenge for the title, because this is what all of these fans dream of."
While Walcott gave his considered opinion on Arsenal's future, his teammate Jack Wilshere adopted a rather different tone as he aimed some barbs at the club's north London rivals, Tottenham. According to The Independent the Arsenal midfielder – who came on as a late substitute at Wembley – could "face disciplinary action after taking to the microphone" during the victory parade.
With delighted Gooners looking up from the streets, Wilshere bellowed into the microphone that he had a question. "What do we think of Tottenham?" he asked, to which the Arsenal faithful replied in time-honoured fashion: "S**t!"
Wilshere, who obviously knows his Arsenal songs, responded: "What do we think of s**t?" and the Gooners replied: "Tottenham!" and launched into an anti-Spurs song.
The Indy reports that Wilshere then led the crowd in another expletive-laden chant mocking Tottenham "until the microphone appeared to be cut off".
It would be churlish if the powers-that-be punished Wilshere. After all, he and his teammates had every reason to get a little carried away after a masterful performance against Villa. Not since Chelsea were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United in the 1994 FA Cup final, has the showpiece of the English season been so one-sided.
After Walcott had given the Gunners the lead five minutes before half-time by lashing the ball past Shay Given in the Villa goal, Alexis Sanchez then scored a goal to grace any cup final, the Chilean striking a thunderbolt from fully 30 yards. Per Mertesacker added a third on 62 minutes as he headed home from a corner and the last word went to Olivier Giroud, who combined with another substitute, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, to flick the ball past Given at the near post on the stroke of full-time.
Pleased though he was to score in a Wembley cup final, Giroud also knows that next season the fans will be expecting a little bit more. Echoing the thoughts of team-mate Walcott he said: "Now we can enjoy this trophy, but next year we want more. We really want to start the season strong next year and join the title race."
The same message was also coming from the club's top brass. Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis was delighted at the club's record 12th FA Cup triumph, and told Arsenal Media: "This team has enormous character and I think great potential looking forwards. There is a tremendous feeling this is the beginning of something, a platform, and we are very excited about what we can do with this team."
