Wenger: Respect Must Be a Two Way Street In Nigel Pearson Case

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken out over the Football Association charge issued to his Leicester counterpart Nigel Pearson for abusing a spectator, insisting respect must be a two-way street.

Pearson was charged on Thursday after footage emerged of him shouting at someone in the crowd during the team's 3-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on December 2.

Wenger has been on the receiving end of abuse from supporters himself recently, with video clips surfacing on the internet showing him being barracked by Gunners fans following last Saturday's defeat to Stoke.

The Frenchman believes it is right that the FA do not tolerate managers abusing spectators, but feels the rules around respect must apply to everyone.

"I believe that you want zero tolerance for no respect, but not only going one way," he said at his Friday morning press conference.

"I just can repeat that you want respect in society and you want to legally make sure that respect is applied to everybody. Everybody has the right to be respected. I don't think that anybody likes not to be respected."

Swansea boss Garry Monk admits it can be hard for a manager to bite his tongue in the face of harsh abuse from supporters.

"If someone says something to you and you can't say anything back I find that absurd," he said.

"If you dish it out you should be able to take it. In terms of what he said I don't know the exact words used, but it's a difficult situation and I have sympathy for him.

"People have the right to have opinions but when it goes over the lines and become abuse I find it strange that you can't say anything back."

He added: "It's a difficult situation for sure. I've been in it for many years and we have to protect the image of the game, but it's very difficult when someone can just abuse you and shout whatever abuse they want and you have to bite your tongue and not say anything back.

"It can be a split moment, a heated situation and you can react. You don't want to but it's difficult at times in any walk of life."