Richard Keys launches explosive Man City rant after controversy vs Nottingham Forest: ‘Refs are scared’
Richard Keys has been left fuming with an incident that occurred during Manchester City’s 2-1 win away at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side travelled to the East Midlands for the early kick-off, but found life difficult against a resurgent Forest side.
Rayan Cherki scored a late winner for Manchester City to snatch all three points, after goals from Tijani Reinders and Omari Hutchinson had the game level for large parts of the second half.
The Citizens ensured that they kept in touch with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table with their latest victory, but their trip to the City Ground certainly wasn’t without its controversies.
Richard Keys fumes at Ruben Dias moment
Cherki’s winning goal for City came in controversial circumstances, as Forest appealed for a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White as the corner was delivered into the box for the winning goal.
The England international tangled with City star Nico O’Reilly, but referee Rob Jones deemed the contact as insufficient to award a free-kick to the defending team.
Sean Dyche and his men were left feeling aggrieved at some of the decisions from the man in the middle, not least the challenge that could have led to Ruben Dias receiving a second yellow card.
The Portuguese was booked in the 36th minute, and there were then huge appeals for a red card almost immediately after the half-time interval, when he tripped Igor Jesus while the frontman was running in behind the defence.
Dyche bemoaned the decision after the game, and that has prompted Keys to take to X to share his frustration towards the decisions that went in City’s favour.
The BeIN Sports presenter argued that Dias “knew exactly what he was doing” and should have been sent off, while also suggesting that referees are “scared” to give major decisions against Manchester City.
He also agreed with Dyche’s suggestion that Guardiola’s men are “masters of the dark arts.”
Sean Dyche to be charged by the FA after post-match comments
Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett exclusively told Football Insider that Dyche will likely face charges from the FA after the comments he made regarding Jones’ refereeing performance on Saturday.
The Forest boss branded the official’s performance as “unacceptable” and suggested that he “couldn’t believe” some of the decisions that were given during the 90 minutes.
Hackett suggested that Dyche’s statements were “avoidable” and also pointed out that he is now likely to receive a letter from the FA regarding his conduct towards the official.
Ultimately, nothing will be able to change those decisions in the aftermath of the game, and Forest can at least take solace from the fact that West Ham’s defeat meant that they avoided slipping closer to the bottom three.