Arsenal - 2 Portsmouth - 2:Arsene Wenger is likely to be handed a touchline ban after it emerged last night that he had used "foul and abusive language" towards a match official.

The Arsenal manager was sent to the stands on Saturday after being incensed by the decision to award a free-kick to Portsmouth on the stroke of half-time for Gael Clichy's foul on David Thompson. When the visitors scored from it through Noe Pamarot, he angrily confronted the referee, Steve Bennett, and his assistants, Glenn Turner and Robert Lewis.

Though Wenger insisted after the match that he had not sworn at the officials, joking that he "was not brought up in England", Bennett's match report, which the Football Association will receive today, is understood to contain evidence of abuse.

Bennett was approached for the reasons for Wenger's dismissal yesterday. "It was for insulting and abusive language to an assistant referee as we left the pitch at half-time," he replied. "Because of his action he was removed from the technical area for the remainder of the match."

Though he sat in the seats immediately behind the dugout and delivered a half-time speech to his team after being sent off, there is nothing to prevent such proximity to the bench in FA laws governing managers' red cards.

However, the disciplinary mandarins are expected to come down hard on Wenger since the match took place less than 48 hours after he was warned as to his future conduct and fined £10,000 for his part in a touchline clash with West Ham's former boss, Alan Pardew, last month.

In the first half blue shirts were the first to almost every ball and it was only after they trailed by two goals that Arsenal shook off their apathy. Pamarot's headed opener - he was unmarked in connecting with the ricochet off the post that followed Matt Taylor's free-kick - was fully deserved and Taylor's own strike, a deliciously dipping volley, was equally merited.

Emmanuel Adebayor's introduction galvanised Arsenal's challenge. He converted Theo Walcott's low centre three minutes later, before Gilberto bundled in. It extended Arsenal's unbeaten run at the Emirates to nine but there have been five draws.

Guardian Service