Aguero escapes punishment as Wigan probe crowd trouble

LONDON: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will not face punishment from the Football Association following an altercation with a Wigan fan after the Premier League leaders’ shock FA Cup defeat.

Aguero became involved in a physical exchange with a Wigan supporter as hundreds of fans spilled onto the pitch following the League One side’s 1-0 victory in the fifth-round tie on Monday.

TV footage of the chaos at the DW Stadium appeared to show Aguero raising his arm to push away the fan and later having to be restrained. It is understood Aguero claims he was spat at.The Argentine will face no disciplinary action from the FA following the incident, although City’s all-time record goalscorer has been “reminded of his responsibilites”.

However, the governing body confirmed it has charged both City and Wigan for failing to control their players after Fabian Delph was sent off in the first half.“Both Wigan Athletic and Manchester City have been charged for failing to control their players in relation to the dismissal of Fabian Delph during last night’s Emirates FA Cup fifth-round tie,” an FA statement said.

“The clubs have until 6pm on Friday 23 February 2018 to respond.“In addition, both clubs have been asked to provide their observations following the crowd trouble at the end of the game and have until Monday 26 February 2018 to respond.”

The dismissal prompted a confrontation between City manager Pep Guardiola and his Wigan counterpart Paul Cook. Their argument continued in the tunnel after the sides left the field at half-time and television pictures showed Guardiola having to be held back by colleagues.