Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, restrained Kyle Walker during their 3-1 victory over Everton on Wednesday.
After Jack Harrison gave the hosts the lead in the first half, the recently struggling Cityzens rallied to tie the score with a goal from outside the penalty area from Phil Foden.
Sean Dyche criticized referee John Brooks after awarding a contentious hand ball against Everton player Amadou Onana, calling it “nonesnse.” Julian Alvarez would give the visitors a 2-1 lead from the penalty spot.
Kyle Walker was restrained by Pep Guardiola after the defender clashed with Everton Coach Ian Woan during Man City’s 3-1 win at Goodison Park
The incident came after Sean Dyche’s assistant had refused to give Walker the ball
Walker had pushed the assistant, but Woan shoved him back, infuriating thefull-back
Even so, there was rising tension at Goodison Park as the Toffees pushed for a winner and frustrated the Premier League winners.
Around 13 minutes remained in regular time when Jarrod Branthwaite forcefully tackled Bernardo Silva, causing the Portuguese midfielder to push the ball out of play. Ian Woan, Dyche’s assistant, grabbed the ball and wouldn’t give it to Walker, who was eager to get the game going again.
Before the Toffees coach tosses the ball onto the field, Walker is seen giving the 56-year-old a slight shove in an attempt to win the ball back for his team.
However, Woan was then shown on Amazon Prime Sport’s coverage pushing the defender in the back after becoming enraged at Walker’s actions.
Walker, incensed at the shove, swings around and approaches the Everton manager, but Guardiola quickly snatches his player and pulls him out of the fight.
Guardiola appeared to make a gesture at Woan after the altercation had ended, but neither player was issued a booking for the encounter.
Significantly, Walker got into a fight with Fluminense last week during their Club World Cup final.
After the game, he got into an argument with Felipe Melo, the Brazilian who had chastised Jack Grealish for being impolite during the contest.
“No one starts on my Jack!” he wrote on Instagram.
Guardiola (right) was seen swiftly stepping in to split up the pair and diffuse the tension
The Spanish manager subsequently pushed walker back onto the pitch, quelling the tension
Walker was involved in a spat with Felipe Melo (right) at the Club World Cup final last week
After thereafter, City added a third goal when Bernardo Silva dipped the ball into the goal from a distance after Jordan Pickford had made a weak clearance.
Following the game, referee John Brooks’ penalty call against Everton became the center of debate.
‘Like I said afterwards, if that is a penalty, then Onana should be a goalkeeper, and he must have some reflexes to get his arm up to stop that if it was deliberate, and I know deliberate doesn’t count anymore,’ Dyche stated during a press conference on Thursday.
“It is all meaningless; ultimately, things ought to return to the past; if it is intentional, it is evident.” That’s why they are called referees. They know how to play a game, have the experience and feel of one, or ought to.
“Who is giving what frustrates me even more.” I asked, ‘Who is giving what?’ following the events at Tottenham. The referee is 12 yards away, and the linesman, who is 50 yards away, gives this one.
“I don’t see that, and as you know, we recently had the opposite happen at Tottenham, so I believe there is more confusion.” Referees, in my opinion, are already subject to enough scrutiny, what with all of this placing microphones on them and other crazy stuff. I’m not sure why.
“I believe we ought to take it away, let them officiate the game, and let them use their expertise a little more.” I’d be shocked if most referees hadn’t secretly thought that there couldn’t have been a penalty last night. If they did all of them, I would be shocked.