Keith Hackett reveals what could happen after Pep Guardiola bust-up amid Man City ‘tunnel’ reveal
Pep Guardiola could be hearing from Sky Sports after an on-pitch clash with a cameraman after Man City’s defeat to Newcastle United.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the incident will have gone into the referee’s notebook despite the full-time whistle being blown.
Emotions were high after Man City lost 2-1 to Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday, 22 November, with the visitors’ boss clearly not happy with how close one of the cameramen got to him on the pitch.
Tempers had already flared after Harvey Barnes netted a brace to cancel out Ruben Dias‘ goal, with Sam Barrott also missing a clear penalty on Phil Foden after a late tackle from Fabian Schar.
Man City boss lashes out after surprise Newcastle defeat
Questions were also raised over Barnes’ second goal due to Bruno Guimaraes appearing to be offside in the build-up, but despite a VAR review, the goal was allowed anyway.
The City players were obviously flattened by the result, especially with Arsenal going on to beat Tottenham to extend their lead at the top of the table, and Guardiola wanted to comfort them.
Hackett has already stated that there is likely going to be an investigation into how the incident emerged at St James’ Park, with camera operators allowed to enter the field once the whistle has blown.
The fact that camera operators are allowed to do that is already heavily debated, but the former PGMOL chief already predicted that the Man City boss would be disappointed by his own actions.
Pep Guardiola has already owned up to his mistake
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “Even though the game is finished and the referee has blown that final whistle, he’s still in charge of the match.
“If he has trouble in the tunnel, that goes in the report. If the referee has seen this incident, he could report it. What I suspect might happen is that the television company might be unhappy with the interaction between Guardiola and the cameraman.
“I think there will be a debate, and the FA may well ask for some observations, to avoid confrontations like that in the future. It’s a bit out of order.
“Managers are in a stressful situation while in that area, and as match officials, we’ve got to give a bit, take a bit, chat, and try to keep them calm. I think he’ll be disappointed with his reaction.”