The identities of the members of Crystal Palace and Manchester City‘s backroom staff that clashed on the touchline during the FA Cup final have been revealed, along with the reason behind their heated exchange. The Eagles were able to secure a memorable 1-0 victory thanks to Eberechi Eze’s first-half strike and Dean Henderson’s inspired performance.
There was plenty of controversy on the day, with many believing that Henderson should not have been on the pitch following a handball incident that prevented Erling Haaland from running through on goal. However, things kicked off even more on the sidelines after Daniel Munoz slotted home from close range for Oliver Glasner’s side. While the resulting goal was eventually chalked off for offside, it was another issue that led to the two counterparts in the dugout squaring off.
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Reason Behind Touchline Spat
Manchester City staff were unhappy with a Palace player being treated for an injury
According to a report from the Manchester Evening News, the two men that could be seen face to face with one another were Palace coach Paddy McCarthy and City’s Head of Sports Medicine, Max Sala.
It is stated that the issue occurred moments after the disallowed Munoz goal, as Palace physios ran onto the pitch to treat winger Ismaila Sarr. As play was set to resume, the medical personnel were still attending to their injured winger on the field, prompting protests from City players and staff who believed the treatment should have taken place off the pitch.
Tensions escalated on the sidelines, with City’s medical staff voicing their frustration. In response, Palace coach Paddy McCarthy confronted Sala, leading to the dispute. The situation was ultimately defused when Pep Guardiola stepped in, and the Palace medical team exited the field after completing care for Sarr, and were joined by Marc Guehi who was replaced by Jefferson Lerma after the England international had gone down earlier in the second half with a head injury.
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Guardiola and Henderson Separated
The pair clashed at full-time
The backroom staff were not the only people who had to be separated from one another on Saturday, as the heroic Henderson and Guardiola were seen being pulled apart from one another after the full-time whistle. While the City boss didn’t comment on the situation between he and the opposition number one, the former Manchester United shotstopper did reveal what he said during the confrontation:
“I went to shake (Guardiola’s) hand. I think he was disappointed with the time-wasting,” the Englishman revealed,” I said, ‘You got the 10 minutes you wanted. No hard feelings.”
