Pep Guardiola will not be charged for his response to Man City‘s equaliser against Liverpool, but the Reds could be fined for an unrelated incident.
The Man City manager celebrated in the faces of Liverpool substitutes when Julian Alvarez levelled the scoring at the Etihad, prompting an angry response from Reds supporters.
Guardiola appeared to goad Kostas Tsimikas with his touchline antics and offered a handshake to Arthur as he subsequently walked past.
It had been construed in some quarters as an act of disrespect towards his opposition, but Guardiola was adamant in his post-match press conference that those were not his intentions.
“I was happy and I said how nice our goal was. That’s all,” he claimed.
When put to him that it was disrespectful, Guardiola added: “I’m so sorry. Do you think it’s a lack of respect? Ah OK, sorry. I’m so sorry.”
The Liverpool Echo report, however, that Guardiola will face no retrospective action for his behaviour, which could have fallen under the FA’s Rule E3 relating to acting ‘in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute’.
While Guardiola appears to have escaped repercussions for his actions, Liverpool may not be as fortunate and could face implications of their own.
In what was a tense first-half affair, a number of players remonstrated over a decision in a manner which could be deemed to have crossed a line in terms of FA regulations.
Jordan Henderson led protests for Rodri to be sent off when two tactical fouls in quick succession saw the Spaniard receive just a solitary yellow card.
The captain and his peers surrounded referee Simon Hooper after the City midfielder pulled back Cody Gakpo to hand the Reds a free-kick close to the halfway line.
FA rule E20.1 requests players to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion, and the aftermath of Rodri’s foul could land Liverpool in a spot of trouble.
Hooper’s refereeing report is said to be under review by the FA, with a decision on any potential punishment likely to follow.
