Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will not face punishment from the Football Association following an altercation with a Wigan fan after the Premier League leaders’ shock FA Cup defeat. Aguero became involved in a physical exchange with a Wigan supporter as hundreds of fans spilled onto the pitch following the League One side’s 1-0 victory in the fifth-round tie on Monday.
TV footage of the chaos at the DW Stadium appeared to show Aguero raising his arm to push away the fan and later having to be restrained. It is understood Aguero claims he was spat at.
The Argentine will face no disciplinary action from the FA following the incident, although City’s all-time record goalscorer has been “reminded of his responsibilites”. However, the governing body confirmed it has charged both City and Wigan for failing to control their players after Fabian Delph was sent off in the first half.
The dismissal prompted a confrontation between City manager Pep Guardiola and his Wigan counterpart Paul Cook. Their argument continued in the tunnel after the sides left the field at half-time and television pictures showed Guardiola having to be held back by colleagues.
Guardiola later played down that incident, suggesting he had been annoyed that Cook had left his technical area. “Nothing happened in the tunnel, nothing happened with my colleague,” the Spaniard said. “It was just ‘please stay in your position’, that’s all, and then finished.”
The FA is understood to be satisfied that no misconduct took place during the interval. Wigan earlier on Tuesday announced a full investigation into the crowd disturbances that marred the club’s dramatic victory which came courtesy of a 79th-minute strike from Will Grigg, ending City’s quest for a historic quadruple.
A number of fans also headed towards the end where City supporters were sitting to continue celebrations, sparking further disturbances. Advertising hoardings were ripped out and thrown onto the pitch along with other objects, while missiles were also thrown from the pitch into the stand. There were also clashes between fans and police and stewards. Police made two arrests on suspicion of affray following an incident outside the ground.
Leicester pay EFL £3.1mn to settle fair play dispute
Leicester City have paid the English Football League £3.1mn ($4.3mn, 3.51mn euros) to settle a Financial Fair Play dispute, it was announced yesterday.
The EFL governs the three divisions below the Premier League and Leicester were deemed to have breached their FFP rules when they won the 2013/14 second-tier Championship title, thereby gaining automatic promotion to the top flight.
But the EFL have now said Leicester “did not make any deliberate attempt to infringe the rules or to deceive”, with problems arising from differing interpretations of the rules. Queens Park Rangers, who finished fourth that season before being promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs, launched a legal challenge against the EFL’s rules that is still ongoing.
Financial Fair Play rules, now in force across a number of leagues and European competitions, are designed to stop clubs bankrupting themselves in pursuit of success and also to ensure that teams are not penalised unduly for sound financial management.
Barca agree deal for Gremio’s Arthur: reports
Barcelona have a reached an agreement in principle with Brazilian club Gremio to sign midfielder Arthur next year in a deal worth up to 40mn euros ($49.2mn), according to reports in Spain yesterday
“FC Barcelona have taken an almost definitive step to seal the recruitment of Arthur,” wrote Catalan daily Sport, who reported the transfer fee would be 30mn euros with a further 10mn in bonuses.
The 21-year-old is expected to arrive during next season’s winter transfer window, although Madrid-based Marca suggested he could join the club this summer if Barca reduce the number of non-EU players in their squad.
Arthur starred in last year’s Copa Libertadores final as Gremio defeated Lanus of Argentina 3-1 on aggregate to claim the title for a third time. But a leaked photograph of Fernandez alongside the Brazilian in a Barca shirt sparked controversy with the player still under contract at Gremio.
Sergio Aguero
