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‘Come on guys, he’s the kindest person I’ve ever met’: Pep Guardiola defends Sergio Agüero as Man City forward goes unpunished after tackling assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis while contesting a throw-in during the win over Arsenal
- Sergio Agüero of Manchester City contested a throw-in with Sian Massey-Ellis
- As the striker passed Massey-Ellis, he grabbed her shoulder.
- Agüero went unpunished despite the rules that came into force in 2016 that protect officials
- Pep Guardiola defended his player when asked about the incident after the game
Sergio Agüero went unpunished on his return to the Premier League on Saturday night after grabbing assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis on the shoulder during the 1-0 win against Arsenal.
The Manchester City forward was discussing an Arsenal service decision when he put his hand on his shoulder.
Pep Guardiola defended Agüero, insisting that the forward’s action was clearly not aggressive. The City boss said: ‘Come on guys, Sergio is the nicest person I’ve ever met in my life. Look for trouble in other situations, not this one. ‘
Sergio Agüero complained to assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis about a throw-in decision
Perhaps Agüero was lucky enough to escape with impunity after he grabbed her shoulder
But Agüero was certainly taking a chance. Chris Foy, the former Premier League referee, said: ‘The keywords are’ aggressive ‘and’ confrontational ‘. The laws state that “it is not unusual for players to come into contact with officials.
“As long as this is done courteously and not in an aggressive or confrontational way, there is no need for a referee to take action.”
Massey-Ellis was subjected to sexist taunts that cost hosts Andy Gray and Richard Keys their jobs at Sky Sports in 2011.
Raheem Sterling believes that City’s performance benefited from Agüero’s return.
Guardiola jumped in defense of Agüero, claiming that the Argentine is the ‘kindest person’ he has ever met
The England winger has had to play like a false nine this season with Agüero and Gabriel Jesús absent, but the Argentine’s first action since injuring his knee in June gave City better form.
“Having a full forward to connect with was really good again,” said Sterling, who missed recent England internationals to rest a hamstring complaint.
‘Sometimes in the first half, Sergio and I got deep into our pockets. It was an important result for us. We have lost points from the beginning and we needed to start our season. ”
The victory was a relief for Guardiola, who saw his team defeat Leicester 5-2 in their last home game.
“The desire to win was impressive against a team like Arsenal that has everything to be a contender to win the League,” he said.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was offended. The VAR didn’t look at a Kyle Walker high boot when he cleared a corner. “I asked the referee to look at it in the back,” he said. “I don’t think they checked and I’m disappointed with that.”
The game was Agüero’s first of the season for Manchester City after a loss due to injury.
Sky Sports expert Micah Richards said the incident “ didn’t look good ” on his former teammate
In Sky Sport’s post-match coverage, Aguero’s former teammate Micah Richards said the incident “didn’t look good.”
He said, ‘I didn’t really need to. You have to respect the officers. I think he handles the situation very well.
He will know better. I don’t think we should exaggerate, but it shouldn’t touch the referees, it doesn’t look good. ‘
