Gary Neville has had his say on the incident that involved Sergio Aguero touching assistant lineswoman Sian Massey-Ellis.
Gary Neville has called on Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero to apologize after he grabbed the shoulder of Sian Massey-Ellis.
The Argentinian stirred controversy when he placed his hand on Massey-Ellis’s shoulder after she awarded Arsenal a throw-in in the first half.
As it stands, Aguero has no plans to apologize for his actions and will not be forced to by Man City, according to the Telegraph.
As per the rules, players can be punished or sent off if they touch officials, but he did not receive any caution.
Former player-turned-pundit Neville says the striker’s actions were a ‘mistake’, while insisting it was made worse because Massey-Ellis is a woman.
“No football player should ever put their hands on an official, whether they be female or male,” Neville told CNN Sport.
“Aguero did make a mistake on Saturday. I think it’s obviously worse by the fact that he put his hands on a female official, which he should never have done.”
“I think [he] would be best served by apologising and getting it over and done with rather than trying to defend the fact that it probably was an instinctive reaction,” he added.
On the flip side, many argue that the incident is only an issue because it involved a woman. Many football fans were quick to bring pictures where footballers have casually touched male officials.
Given the context of the incident, Gary Neville’s comments make sense but it’s up to Aguero to determine if he will address it or not.
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