Sheffield United midfielder John Fleck has revealed the truth on his collision with referee Chris Kavanagh in the build-up to Sergio Aguero's goal, stating that he has no complaints.
Fleck collided with the referee while attempting to latch onto Ollie Norwood's pass and the ball instead fell to Kevin De Bruyne, who fed through Aguero to open the scoring.
The Blades, who saw a goal of their own in the first half chalked off for offside, would go on to lose 2-0 after De Bruyne found the back of the net himself, but there has been some controversy over the opening goal.
However, speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Fleck has no complaints and believes he was just unfortunate: “I think I've been caught in an unfortunate moment, there are no complaints.
"Out on the pitch there is a lot of frustration but it is one of those things. I understand the rule if it hits him the game is stopped but not if he's just in the way. It is unfortunate."
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has also explained why there was nothing that could be done about the incident, as the officials are a part of the game and not considered to be an outside interference.
"This is very, very unlucky for the referee but he is part of the field of play so he plays no part in the game whatsoever. The interesting thing is if the ball had struck him, and he hadn't taken evasive action which he did twice, he could have dropped the ball to Sheffield United.
"Because he did what he's meant to do, steer clear of the play, he impedes Fleck, Manchester City go and score but it's a consequence of his actions rather than the law."
