Did Sterling jump or was he pushed?

I CAN understand both sides of the argument following Raheem Sterling’s red card for celebrating his 97th-minute winner at Bournemouth among Manchester City fans.

First, fans should not have been on the pitch. It’s against the law. Second, players know the rules.

You are not allowed to jump into the crowd or remove your shirt after scoring. Both are yellow-card offences.

And third, referee Mike Dean probably felt obliged to apply the letter of the law – or he would have been marked down by an assessor sitting in the stands with a clipboard.

But unless you have ever experienced the euphoria of a late winner, you probably don’t know that it’s the fastest way to take leave of your senses. In my opinion, you should be able to celebrate with your fans, but not if people can get hurt.

I have three questions about that game. Why didn’t Dean send off Nathan Ake for a clear red card offence in the first half?

Did Sterling actually leave the pitch to celebrate with fans or was he bundled over the touchline by team-mates joining the hysteria?

And if it’s a bookable offence to jump into the stand, why were no other City players shown a yellow card for doing the same as Sterling? Let’s have some clarity from the FA.

BIGGEST surprise of deadline day? That’s a toss-up between Bayern Munich’s Renato Sanches joining Swansea on loan and West Brom borrowing Grzegorz Krychowiak from Paris Saint-germain.

Fair play to Swans manager Paul Clement – he did not just sit next to Carlo Ancelotti on the bench at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern as his No.2. He also acquired the nous to pick up the phone and ask to loan one of the Italian’s players.

It’s a sign of the times in the Premier League when two clubs who do not expect to infiltrate the top six can go shopping in Munich and Paris.