‘Cheat’ Vardy got me sent off, claims Nasri
SAMIR NASRI has described Jamie Vardy as “a cheat” and accused the Leicester City striker of play-acting to get him sent off following their angry confrontation in Tuesday’s Champions League tie.
Nasri, who could see the statutory one-game UEFA ban being doubled for failing to leave the King Power Stadium pitch after the incident, accused Vardy of failing to act “like a man” and insisted it had been the striker who caused the head contact, having barged him moments before the clash.
Insisting he did not “touch” Vardy, who recoiled after the contact, Nasri said: “For me he’s a cheat. If he was a foreign player, you the English press would be saying he’s a cheat. For me he is a cheat.
TOUGHER
“They were winning 2-0. Play the game like a man. You are not better than us but you are winning 2-0 and will qualify. Just play the game. For an international player you don’t need to do that.
“He played it well. It was face-to-face and he fell on the floor. I thought the English players were tougher than that and wouldn’t go on the floor like that. He is the one who came to my face and fell on the floor. He played it well.”
Nasri said that, after a foul on the edge of the Sevilla penalty area, Vardy had pushed him.
“I asked him, ‘What are you doing?’ and then he came to my face. I didn’t touch him, I didn’t do anything with my head,” Nasri said.
“He came to my face and then went on the floor and the referee gave both us a yellow card.”
Asked if he saying that Vardy had “faked” a clash to get him sent off and win the game, knowing he was on a yellow card, the Frenchman said: “You don’t think so? Look at the image and you will see. Yes he did but he did it well.
“I should have thought about it before and been smarter.
“If I tell the (full) truth, I don’t think you will be able to write it.
“I would love to speak to him. Too many cameras and security (and a big) suspension. You would not be able to write (what I would say to him.)”
Nasri has impressed at Sevilla this season, on loan from Manchester City where Pep Guardiola judged him surplus to requirement, and was comfortably the Spanish side’s best player before his dismissal.
Asked if he expected to see Vardy again in the Premier League next season, Nasri said: “I don’t know what’s going to happen with my future, I’m enjoying my time here. I don’t know.
“We’re not playing in the same zone so it would be hard for me to get back at him but it doesn’t matter.
REACTION
“I’m surprised (by what happened). I should have thought about it and not reacted but I’m a man and I see the whole thing coming out of the Champions League which is a big blow for us. It was just a reaction.”
Nasri will receive at least a one-match ban and it could be more depending on how the incident and his refusal to leave the field is viewed by UEFA’s disciplinary body.
All red cards are reviewed by the disciplinary committee but no date has yet been set for when the case will be considered. (© Independent News Service)