Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 7y

PFA wants investigation into Sergio Aguero incident at Bournemouth

The players' union for English football wants an investigation into the incident at the end of Manchester City's win over Bournemouth that resulted in a steward alleging he was assaulted by Sergio Aguero before withdrawing the claim.

City players went to celebrate in front of the away end after Raheem Sterling's 97th-minute winning goal but fans spilled onto the pitch with stewards and police intervening.

Dorset Police took a statement from a steward who alleged he was struck by Aguero but Bournemouth later said the complaint had been withdrawn, calling it "a misunderstanding."

TV footage showed Aguero remonstrating with a steward as one supporter was restrained on the ground and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has expressed concern about the incident

"Of course we have to be aware of supporters' safety but that should be balanced with recognising the passion and intensity of our game, which makes it the spectacle it is," a PFA spokesman told English newspaper The Times.

Dorset Police said in a statement that two men had been arrested following the incident.

Sterling was given a second yellow card by referee Mike Dean after the celebration and will now be suspended for City's next game against his former Liverpool after the international break.

City boss Pep Guardiola and Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe both criticised the decision to send off the England international.

Meanwhile, Cherries goalkeeper Asmir Begovic felt the goal would not have been scored had the referee not given a foul for a tackle by Lys Mousset on Nicolas Otamendi in the run-up to the goal.

The former Chelsea keeper claims that bigger teams get key decisions and it cost them their first point of the season on Saturday.

"I don't think we got many calls at the end. That's to be expected; the bigger team always gets the calls," the Bosnia-Herzegovina international told reporters. "There were probably a couple of dodgy calls at the end.

"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.

"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."

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