Pep Guardiola is set to serve a two-game touchline ban after receiving his sixth yellow card of the season, but will he miss the League Cup final against Arsenal?
Pep Guardiola received a yellow card during Manchester City’s FA Cup last-16 victory away to Newcastle United on Saturday night, his sixth of the domestic campaign.
Based on new rules introduced this season, a manager receives a one-game touchline ban after three yellow cards, and a two-game ban after six. Saturday’s booking was Guardiola’s sixth of the campaign.
So Guardiola will have to sit out of two of City’s upcoming matches, but that won’t include their Champions League tie against Real Madrid, nor the upcoming League Cup final against Arsenal. Yet he could end up missing a match against Arsenal anyway.
Football.London report that these yellow-card bans for managers apply to both Premier League and FA Cup games, but not to European or League Cup games.
As a result, Guardiola will be in the dugout for City’s game away to Real Madrid on Wednesday, then banned against West Ham, then available for the following two games against Real Madrid and Arsenal (the League Cup final) before being banned again when City play their FA Cup quarter-final.
Of course, we don’t yet know City’s FA Cup opponent, and it could end up being Arsenal.
Guardiola went on a rant after the game about the ban, suggesting his team aren’t being refereed properly.
“When Jeremy Doku dribbles Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled from behind, I’m not asking for a yellow card but please – it’s a foul,” Guardiola said. “I will defend my team.
“We have all the records in this country – all of them. Despite everything, we have all of them. And we have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I have always wanted this record and now I have it. Two game banned now, and I will go on holidays.
“Oh my god. Oh. My. God. There are things that still after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action, review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku, and all my teams. They continue to do it.”
From an Arsenal perspective, the hope now is that City suffer a couple of slip-ups in the league and FA Cup in Guardiola’s absence, with the Gunners still fighting on both fronts.