Asmir Begovic has said he would welcome a high-level review into why the bigger teams in this country “always” have decisions go in their favour. The Bournemouth goalkeeper made the comment following Manchester City’s last-gasp 2-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday and after the referee, Mike Dean, awarded a free-kick to Pep Guardiola’s side in the buildup to Raheem Sterling’s 97th-minute winner.
The goal, which sparked wild scenes in the away end and resulted in Sterling being sent-off after receiving a second yellow card for the manner of his celebration, was kick-started by a foul given against Lys Mousset, the Bournemouth striker, after he was adjudged by Dean to have fouled Nicolás Otamendi on the halfway line. Begovic was among those who felt it was a harsh call and arguably would not have been given had it occurred the other away round.
“I don’t think we got many calls at the end. That’s to be expected; the bigger team always gets the calls,” he said. “There were probably a couple of dodgy calls at the end. Jermain [Defoe] being fouled on the halfway line when we tried to break. That was obviously a call we would’ve liked and didn’t get. There were a couple of things that didn’t go our way. The seventh minute [of added time] they scored, when it should’ve been five minutes. There’s probably a couple of things overall we have a right to be unhappy with.
“You look at the extra time, you could see a couple of things didn’t go our way that’s for sure. Maybe it is subconsciously … but we were on the wrong side of it and I think the bigger teams do get those calls.”
Begovic, who joined Bournemouth from Chelsea for £10m at the end of May, admits he previously benefited from decisions working to his advantage during his time at Stamford Bridge. “Yes, I was probably on the other side of them,” the Bosnia-Herzegovina international said. “It is maybe a thing because maybe the bigger teams put more pressure on and maybe they get more calls, more decisions.
“I don’t know if it’s pressure from people on the sidelines or whatever it is. There were definitely a couple of things in the last 10 minutes you look at it and think we would’ve liked that and deserved that to go our way but hey, we gave it our best and it wasn’t meant to be. We would’ve loved to have seen the game out and got a point, which we fully deserved, I think.”
Asked if he thinks the issue is something that should be investigated at a higher level, Begovic added: “If the powers want to look at it, by all means that would be welcome.”
There was also frustration with Dean’s officiating within the away ranks. Guardiola was left baffled by Sterling’s red card and also said Nathan Aké should have been sent off for a foul on Gabriel Jesus, who equalised after Charlie Daniels’ emphatic opener. “If you cannot celebrate with the fans the best solution is not to invite the fans,” said the City manager of Sterling’s dismissal, which rules the forward out of City’s match against his former side Liverpool on 9 September. “After scoring the goal you can imagine how happy he is, how happy the fans [are]. It is the same action.”
One headache City do not have to contend with is Sergio Agüero being the subject of an ongoing police investigation. One was launched against the striker after local officers took a statement from a Bournemouth steward alleging Agüero struck him during the mêlée that followed Sterling’s winner but the club released a statement on Saturday evening claiming there had been a “misunderstanding” and that the complaint had been dropped.
Dorset police did confirm, however, that two male spectators from Manchester were arrested after the incident. A statement added officers were “reviewing CCTV of the pitch encroachment as part of an ongoing investigation to establish whether any other offences may have been committed”.
The defeat was Bournemouth’s third in succession of the season but their manager, Eddie Howe, is adamant that, if his team can perform like they did against City, they will be rewarded for their efforts sooner rather than later. The south coast club travel to Arsenal after the international break.
“The players came off giving everything,” he said. “The result didn’t go with us which is hugely frustrating but, as long as we produce that kind of work ethic in the team, we will certainly pick up a lot of points.”