AGUERO SHOWS HE IS THE LESSER AMONG EQUALS
On balance, I’m not sure Sergio Aguero grabbing Sian Massey-Ellis’s neck in the game against Arsenal on Saturday is a gender issue.
The Manchester City striker seems capable of showing just as much contempt to a male assistant.
Clearly, he is frustrated by the stoic professionalism shown by one of the game’s most experienced assistant referees in the face of his petulant rant.
And it is almost as if his disbelief that Massey-Ellis has turned away from him in self-entitled mid-flow prompted him to grab out and initially try to turn her back to face him.
The gesture seemed aggressive more than patronising – a perverted recognition of the level standing Massey-Ellis has worked so hard for years to establish.
What is of no doubt is that the main referee – the individual with the power regardless of their gender – should have done more to protect his assistant and for the benefit of officials up and down the country, produced a yellow card.