Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola Defends Sergio Aguero’s Controversial Touching Of Female Referee

KEY POINTS

Sergio Aguero has been recovering from a left knee injury
Aguero put his hands on female official Sian Massey-Ellis in his return
Pep Guardiola defends Aguero and shared that the criticisms were too much

Sergio Aguero’s long-awaited return was marred with controversy in their 1-nil win against Arsenal on Saturday.

The star striker was criticized for putting his hand around the shoulder of female official Sian Massey-Ellis. While the Argentine’s actions caused outrage, manager Pep Guardiola sees the comments thrown at his player as unnecessary.

"Come on guys," Guardiola said, as quoted by Sky Sports. "Sergio is the nicest person I ever met in my life. Look for problems in other situations not in this one."

The incident happened when the 32-year-old striker was disputing a decision by Massey-Ellis and then placed his hand on the lineswoman.

It is stated in the rules that putting one’s hands on an official is not an offense unless done in an aggressive or threatening manner. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited has decided that they will not take any action against Aguero in last weekend’s incident, the Guardian reported.

While Aguero is expected to get away with it, there are those who still disagree with his actions on the pitch.

“He shouldn’t put his hand on the assistant referee,” Alan Shearer of BBC shared. “It just wasn’t a good look, Gary, was it? He shouldn’t do it."

Former player Micah Richards also pointed out the composure the official had to be a professional amid the situation.

"You've got to respect the officials. I think she deals with the situation really well. He'll know better than that,” Richards explained.

"It's just not a good look. We don't need to do that, you start going down a road you don't want to go down - he should know better than that."

Pep Guardiola has played down an incident involving Sergio Aguero after the #MCFC striker put his hand on assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis in Saturday's match against Arsenal.
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 18, 2020

The 32-year-old has been out of action for a big part of 2020 due to a left knee injury. He has been a big piece for Manchester City since 2011 and has an estimated market value of $49 million.

In the past decade, he’s served as one of the more consistent scorers for Manchester City as he’s appeared in 371 games while netting 254 goals.

The Sky Blues will look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday, Oct 22, in a group stage of the UEFA Champions League against FC Porto.