Manuel Pellegrini apologises for rant at ref Jonas Eriksson
Frustrated Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has apologised for his outburst against Swedish official Jonas Eriksson, who was in charge of the Citizens’ Champions League last-16 duel against Barcelona, stating that he was “frustrated and angry” after the 2-0 drubbing by the Catalan giants.
Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini told reporters at a press conference ahead of today’s Premier League match against 14th placed Stoke City.”When you have lost a game the way we lost against Barcelona, you are frustrated, you are angry, and of course maybe I said some things that I don’t think. That’s why I apologise for what I said”,
The 60 year-old Blues manager is being investigated by UEFA for his comments after the clash against Barcelona on Tuesday evening.
Pellegrini claimed that “from the beginning” the referee “was not impartial” and stated that the official “decided the game” for incorrectly awarding the penalty and failing to spot a foul on Jesús Navas in an incident that led up to the penalty that Messi converted to give the Azulgrana a 1 nil lead.
Brazilian ace Dani Alves, then made it 2 nil in the dying moments of the game by slotting the ball through Joe Hart’s legs to put the Catalans in a favourable position for the return leg in March.
