Sergio Aguero was in the news for all the wrong reasons yesterday as the Argentine could face a ban for elbowing Winston Reid at the Etihad. The Argentine striker may now face an FA charge which could see him miss the all-important Manchester derby along with games against Bournemouth and Swansea. City went on to win 3-1 against the Hammers thanks to a Raheem Sterling brace and a thumping Fernandinho header.
The incident happened in the 76th minute when both Sergio Aguero and Winston Reid were tussling from Willy Caballero goal kick. It appeared as if Aguero swung his elbow which hit Reid right in the throat and was subsequently substituted. West Ham captain, Mark Noble later said to reporters, “ I didn't see it. I don't know what it was about really but I know he can't really talk, he said he got something to the throat."
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Manchester City now face an anxious wait as they will argue that the Referee Andre Marriner was close to both the players and saw the incident himself. In which case, the FA won't slap a three-match ban on Aguero. The FA will only take retrospective action if Marriner says that he missed the incident. West Ham boss Slaven Bilic immediately removed Reid after the clash but later explained that it was a tactical decision as the centre-back had to make way for Jonathan Calleri.
Pep Guardiola also shared his views about the incident, "I did not see anything. I will see what you are talking about on TV and, after that, we are going to see." Missing Aguero can be a big positive for United as the Argentine has a brilliant record against the old rivals. Slaven Bilic stated that he missed the incident as well, "No. I didn't see it at all. We were preparing to make a substitution so I didn't see that and I didn't react."
He continued, "I reacted because we wanted to make a sub. Winston was off and Calleri still didn't come on. That was my discussion with them. I think he is okay. He is not injured. We wanted to change the shape, to take even more risks because when we scored a goal, we wanted to put another striker in, to put Calleri in and put Ashley Fletcher on the wing and put three in midfield and take one of the centre backs off and go to four at the back."
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The FA have been inconsistent over the years as Marouane Fellaini has escaped a number of bans over the years which might give the Citizens some hope.
