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Manchester City have booked their spot in the Round of 16 of the Club World Cup after two consecutive victories in the group stage.
While City's run in the competition is going well so far, Pep Guardiola's side hit a bump on the road as one of their stars, Rico Lewis, has been handed a three-match suspension.
Lewis was shown a red card for committing a foul and had to leave the pitch in the dying minutes of Man City's opening match of the competition, which was against Moroccan club Wydad.
The 20-year-old served his one-match suspension in Man City's second clash of the competition, as per regulations. However, Lewis' ban was extended by two more games after a FIFA disciplinary committee ruled that the tackle committed by the defender was 'serious foul play.'
Man City's appeal against the extension of the ban was not considered. Guardiola, who did not agree with the referee's decision from the beginning, has been candid about his opinion while talking to reporters after the match.
Now, speaking ahead of Man City's last group stage clash in the Club World Cup, the Catalan manager has been critical of FIFA’s referees committee over their decision about Lewis's suspension.
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What did Man City boss Pep Guardiola say about Rico Lewis' suspension?
While mentioning the chairman of FIFA’s referees committee, Pierluigi Collina, Guardiola stated (comments via GOAL) that Lewis' incident was unintentional and unfortunate.
"I don’t know who the boss is for the referees, Collina? I am pretty sure the referees don’t know who Rico is. He is the sweetest and the kindest and sometimes as a defender you say ‘You have to be more aggressive’. It is an action, never intentional. I know the image can pretend to be but both (feet) are on the floor and unfortunately he touched the player a little bit on the lips," said Guardiola.
With the extended two-match ban, Lewis will be absent from Man City's final group stage match in the Club World Cup, which is against Juventus on June 26, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. He will also miss their Round of 16 clash.
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