Arsenal consider major rule change after Conor McGregor aimed punches at Bukayo Saka

Arsenal are contemplating prohibiting its players from engaging with corporate visitors at the Emirates Stadium following Conor McGregor’s heated encounter with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka last week.

McGregor, a former UFC champion, was at the Emirates Stadium last Tuesday for Arsenal’s 2-0 Champions League victory against Paris Saint-Germain.

Following the game, the Dubliner made his way onto the pitch for a little kickaround with Rice and Saka. Before posing for photographs with Saka, McGregor threw fun leg kicks at him and grappled with him, humorously attempting a takedown on the England star.

According to the Times, McGregor did not have authority to enter the pitch, and Arsenal has launched an internal inquiry into the incident.

McGregor is claimed to have been requested to return to the stands due to ‘a significant degree of worry’ within the club about the UFC star’s ability to aim punches and kicks, even jokingly, at one of the club’s most prized players.

McGregor and his crew are alleged to have obtained VIP seats through third-party business 1Access, resulting in a corporate package that included a box at the Emirates, where celebrities frequently appear.

The former featherweight and lightweight world champion was also spotted on the pitch with a bottle of his own-brand ‘Proper no12’ whiskey.

However, his actions with Saka were ‘the most concerning’ for manager Mikel Arteta, and the club is now exploring modifications to the system that permits players to socialize with celebrity fans after games.Arsenal is obviously trying to disassociate itself from the McGregor brand, considering the number of issues he has been engaged in. In 2019, he was convicted of assault after hitting a guy in a Dublin pub.

Last year, the combatant flattened a Miami Heat mascot during a halftime show. While McGregor claimed the section was a pre-planned’skit’, ‘Burnie’ was carried off the court and sent to the hospital after being hit twice.

McGregor has not fought in the Octagon since July 2021, when he fractured his leg during his trilogy loss to Dustin Poirier.

A scheduled return versus Michael Chandler has fallen by the wayside many times this year, with his potential opponent moving his emphasis to Charles Oliveira in November. McGregor isn’t anticipated to compete until at least next year.