Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked about Rodri being charged by the FA for his comments on referees.
Pep Guardiola suggested that Manchester City will accept any punishment Rodri faces from the FA for comments he made about referees after the Spurs game. However, the City boss also made apparent what he thinks about the charge in a season where he has spoken increasingly about the decisions that they feel have gone against them.
Rodri has until Wednesday to respond to allegations from the FA that he ‘acted in an improper manner during a post-match media interview by making comments that imply bias and/or question the integrity of a match official and/or match officials, contrary to FA Rule 3.1’. The Ballon d’Or winner had been frustrated after City threw away a two-goal lead at Tottenham that began when Dominic Solanke appeared to kick Marc Guehi’s leg to propel the ball into the net.
“I know we won too much and the people don’t want us to win but the referee has to be neutral and, for me, honestly, it’s not fair. It’s not fair because we work so hard in these situations and now to make these decisions, we have to move on,” said Rodri.
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“Of course you need to come back but at the end, when everything is finished, we are frustrated because it’s so clear the foul. He kicked the leg and of course with the push of the action on the ball, the ball goes in. We have to pay attention to these little things otherwise it’s going to be difficult for everyone because this league is like this – it’s about small details and everything counts, so I think today is a very tough day for us in this sense.”
Guardiola said publicly that he thought it should have been a foul on Guehi but he did not talk about neutrality or fairness when criticising. Because Rodri did, he could face a ban; Jurgen Klopp was given a one-match ban plus one suspended game when he was charged under the same rule in 2023.
An independent panel will rule on Rodri’s case after he has had the chance to say anything he wants to. It remains to be seen how City react to any outcome, but Guardiola made clear his feelings about what the club will do.
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“We will absolutely respect the decision from the FA,” he said. “We accept everything when the big hierarchies decide how we have to behave and what we have to do.”
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