City also guilty of horrendous challenges, says Warnock
LONDON: Cardiff manager Neil Warnock has hit back at Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s calls for greater player protection following the FA Cup clash between the sides that left City winger Leroy Sane sidelined for six weeks.
Guardiola was furious after his side’s 2-0 fourth-round win on Jan 28 when Sane suffered ankle ligament damage from a dreadful Joe Bennett tackle.
Days later City were outraged once more when late challenges on Kevin De Bruyne and Brahim Diaz by West Brom’s James McClean and Matt Phillips were only punished with yellow cards.
The Catalan coach also named just six substitutes for last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Burnley claiming he “didn’t have any players” due to City’s injury crisis.
Yet, Warnock insists City are capable of “horrendous tackles” themselves with Fernandinho also lucky to escape a red card against West Brom.
“I wished they would have put a slow still of Kevin De Bruyne’s tackle and studs on Jazz Richards,” said Warnock, who believes his side suffered a backlash due to a lack of other action on the day they faced the runaway Premier League leaders.
“And the bad tackle of Fernandinho, and then when they played West Brom the following week.
“There were some horrendous tackles and nothing was said about that because there were another eight or nine games.”
Bennett was only booked for his late lunge on Sane, but eventually saw red for another bookable offence on Diaz in stoppage time.
Warnock was so angry that he forced Bennett to train on his own last weekend when he was sus- pended for his side’s Championship win at Leeds.
“I got more stick than Joe Bennett,” Warnock said ahead of Cardiff ’s league trip to Millwall on Friday night.
“I slaughtered him when I saw it, I said you do a horrific tackle like that and I get three days of hell.”