Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola will soon serve a two-game suspension after receiving a milestone yellow card during his side’s FA Cup victory over Newcastle United.
City progressed to the fifth round of the competition with a comfortable 3–1 win on Saturday evening. Savinho opened the scoring before Omar Marmoush added two goals to secure the victory for the hosts.
The incident that led to Guardiola’s booking occurred early in the second half with Manchester City leading 2–1. The Catalonian coach reacted angrily when referee Sam Barrott did not award a foul after what he believed to be a challenge on Jeremy Doku.
Guardiola’s protests resulted in a yellow card, which was his sixth of the season in domestic competitions.
Pep Guardiola handed two-game touchline ban under managerial discipline rules
While players must accumulate 10 yellow cards before receiving a two-game suspension, the rules for managers are different. Managers receive a one-game ban after three yellow cards and face a multiple-match suspension once they reach six.
As a result, Guardiola will now miss two of Manchester City’s upcoming domestic fixtures.
The suspension will not affect Manchester City’s Champions League last-16 clash with Real Madrid. However, Guardiola will not be on the touchline when City face West Ham United on March 14.
Pep Guardiola available for EFL Cup final against Arsenal despite suspension
Manchester City’s next domestic fixture after the West Ham match is the EFL Cup final against Arsenal on March 22. Their scheduled game against Crystal Palace has been postponed due to the club’s Champions League and Wembley commitments.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola will not be banned for the EFL Cup final. His two-match suspension only applies to Premier League and FA Cup fixtures.
The second part of the suspension will therefore be served during Manchester City’s FA Cup quarter-final, which will take place during the first weekend of April after the international break.
Guardiola is then expected to return to the touchline for Manchester City’s trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on April 12.
Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure to lead Manchester City during Guardiola ban
During Guardiola’s absence, Pepijn Lijnders and Kolo Toure will take charge of the team for the matches affected by the suspension.
They will oversee Manchester City’s Premier League meeting with West Ham United and the FA Cup quarter-final fixture. The opponent for that match will be confirmed when the FA Cup draw takes place on Monday evening.
Pep Guardiola explains Jeremy Doku incident after Manchester City win
Guardiola addressed the incident involving Jeremy Doku during his post-match press conference. The Manchester City manager insisted he would always defend his players.
“When Jeremy Doku dribbles past (Kieran) Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled form 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. There are things that still after 10 years I cannot understand.”
Manchester City’s victory over Newcastle United marked their seventh win in their last eight matches across all competitions and extended their unbeaten run to 11 games since their Champions League defeat to Bodo/Glimt in January.
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