Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has defended Sergio Aguero again after Gary Neville suggested that the striker apologize for putting his arm on assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis’ shoulder.
In City’s 1-0 win over Arsenal last Saturday, Aguero contested a throw-in decision before touching Massey-Ellis as she turned to walk away. This incident has generated considerable criticism.
Pundit Neville told CNN, “I think he’d best apologize.”
Pep Guardiola continues to defend Sergio Aguero after his controversial gesture
Aguero has come under fire for putting his arm around Sian Massey-Ellis during a game
After reviewing the incident, the football association was convinced that the match officers did not consider any formal action necessary.
Immediately after the game, Guardiola described Aguero as “the nicest person I have ever met in my life” and added, “Look for problems in other situations, not this one.”
On Friday, he was asked if he thought Aguero should have apologized after Neville’s comment and criticism of the Argentine by Alan Shearer and Ian Wright.
Gary Neville said Aguero should apologize publicly and criticize the striker’s actions
Guardiola said, “I know Aguero perfectly. It’s like with Bernardo Silva and (Benjamin) Mendy. I don’t judge people who come from outside. I know Sergio’s intention.
“He put his hands in the normal way, which he often does to me, on and off the field, or when I hug him, when there has been a change, or when he sometimes touches the referees.
“I didn’t see … if maybe I would see aggression or anything. I think it was normal because I know Sergio perfectly who was an incredible big star of world football and one of the most humble and nicest people I have ever met.
‘The important (thing) is the intention, and the intention was to speak to her in a normal way. And I’m pretty sure – I haven’t spoken to Sergio about it – if she felt bad he’d be fine with apologizing.
“It’s the same as with Bernardo, I know him very well, it was a joke and today was a normal situation.”
In 2019, Silva was banned from a game, fined £ 50,000 and sentenced to attend a training course after his Twitter post compared his City teammate Mendy to the candy brand mascot Conguitos. A regulatory commission found that the tweet was not intentionally racist.
The Man City striker initially complained to Massey-Ellis about a throw-in decision for Arsenal
As she walked down the contact line, Aguero continued to protest and laid her hands on her
Guardiola spoke on Friday before the trip to West Ham on Saturday, the first of three away games for City in eight days. That is in a period of 23 days with seven games between international breaks.
Guardiola, who has struggled with a number of injuries on his squad lately, continued to talk about what it was like. too much for the player. ‘
He said, “I love soccer. I know the business. But it’s too much for the players. To sell a better product, you have to choose quality.
‘(There are) 365 days and we have to put all competitions and games (in) and with what happened to Covid-19 last season the calendar is more difficult.
‘But I think it’s too much for everyone – at least for the teams that play in Europe. For the others it may be less.
‘We have 10 days, 15 days and we have to start again – preseason, the Community Shield, the first games. Therefore, the players are injured. It is no secret. You just pray that everyone will finish the game without any problems. ‘
A later announcement regarding television games revealed that City’s home game against Liverpool had been postponed to Sunday, October 8th.
Guardiola says people are quick to judge like they were with Bernardo Silva (top, center) and Benjamin Mendy (bottom right), and a joke they shared together on social media
After the Champions League 2-0 win over Porto on Wednesday, the Portuguese team boss Sergio Conceicao was quoted as saying Guardiola’s “attitude was extremely uncomfortable during the game”.
When asked, Guardiola said: “We didn’t want it to be uncomfortable. He thinks it’s us, so maybe he’s right. I do not believe that. If he thinks that, it’s okay. ‘
A report on Friday said Guardiola, whose current contract with City ends next summer, has started talks with the club about a new contract but the 49-year-old said it was not.
When asked if it was difficult to think about things like his contract given the schedule, he said, “I can think about a lot of things, no problem.”
He was then asked if a player’s mentality changes when he knows a manager is staying for the next season and said, “Absolutely not. They want to play well every single game. ‘
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