Guardiola 'reminded of responsibilities' by FA

Pep Guardiola's confrontation with Southampton's Nathan Redmond has led the FA to remind the Manchester City boss of his responsibilities.

Published : Dec 05, 2017 01:35 IST

Pep Guardiola confronts Nathan Redmond after Manchester City beat Southampton.
Pep Guardiola confronts Nathan Redmond after Manchester City beat Southampton.
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Pep Guardiola confronts Nathan Redmond after Manchester City beat Southampton.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been reminded of his responsibilities by the Football Association (FA) but will not face disciplinary action over his on-field confrontation with Southampton winger Nathan Redmond.

It means the 46-year-old is free to take his place in the dugout for Sunday's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Guardiola approached Redmond in the immediate aftermath of City securing a dramatic 2-1 win last Wednesday, courtesy of a 96th-minute strike by Raheem Sterling that prompted wild celebrations.

The Saints player was heading towards the tunnel when he was confronted by an animated and gesticulating former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.

Guardiola told reporters afterwards that he was merely telling Redmond how much he admired him as a player and how he should attack more – a version of events the 23-year-old corroborated in a statement released via Twitter.

The FA still sought Guardiola's observations on the incident, giving him until Monday to respond.

Despite expressing bemusement at a news conference on Friday over the authorities pursuing the matter after his and Redmond's stories checked out, Omnisport understands Guardiola replied in writing to the FA as requested and received a response reminding him over his responsibilities regarding future conduct at matches.

Redmond went public on the matter after an article in The Sun newspaper accused Guardiola of aiming foul and abusive language towards him and insisted the Catalan's "intense and aggressive" approach was wholly well-intentioned.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that the Man City manager, Pep Guardiola, did not say what The Sun is falsely claiming in this story," he wrote.

"Yes, he was very passionate, intense and aggressive, but he was only very complimentary and positive to me.

"He commented on my qualities as a young English player and how he wanted me to attack his team more during the game in a similar way to last season.

"I told him I was doing what my manager had asked me to do in the game. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Nothing negative or offensive was said towards me from Pep and that's what makes him one of the best managers in world football.

"Losing the game the way we did in the last kick of the game after working so hard for 90+ minutes, I was very disappointed. But when one of the world's best managers compliments you or gives advice in any way, you listen."

Asked whether he regretted his actions before City took on West Ham this weekend, Guardiola replied: "Yes. It happened in Munich when I was with my old player, lovely player, Joshua Kimmich. 

"I did the same after a game in Dortmund and I had regrets then after the game and the same now. I cannot control myself. I have to do that but I could not. Hopefully I can improve."

Premier League leader City makes the short trip to face United with an eight-point advantage over their rivals at the summit. It is on a winning run of 13 matches in the top flight.

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