On 21 November 2018, the Football Association formally warned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola over comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor before the Manchester derby.
The issue was Guardiola’s discussion of Taylor’s appointment for the fixture, despite FA rules barring managers from talking about referees ahead of matches. Taylor, who is from a Manchester suburb, was the official for the game.
Guardiola did back Taylor and rejected claims of bias, but his remarks still crossed the line set by the governing body. Because it was his first such offence and the comments were viewed as largely neutral, a charge was not considered necessary.
The case was compared with a similar one involving Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, who was fined £50,000 ($64,000) in November 2016 after speaking about Taylor before a match against Liverpool. Mourinho had already been warned for a comparable breach while he was Chelsea manager.
Guardiola said:
“The referee doesn't want to make a mistake because he knows everybody around the world is going to watch him. If he is a fan of United or City -- everybody can be a fan of whoever he wants so no problem.”
Taylor was widely praised for his handling of the match, which Premier League leaders City won 3-1 earlier that month.
