Manchester City have qualified for the last-16 of the FIFA Club World Cup but they will be hoping to seal top spot in Group G by beating Juventus.
Pep Guardiola is likely to name his strongest line-up in the competition against the Italian giants after making 11 changes in City’s previous encounter against Al Ain.
However, one player who will not be available for selection is Rico Lewis after it has been revealed that he has been handed a two-match ban by FIFA for his sending off against Wydad AC — after the 20-year-old caught Samuel Obeng’s face while trying to win the ball — a challenge that has been deemed as “serious foul play.”
Mark Clattenburg felt Lewis’ red card was deserved but Manchester City fans are far from happy about the ban in place.
Man City fans complain after FIFA hand Rico Lewis two-match ban
One Manchester City fan reacted to FIFA’s decision to suspend Lewis for three games in totality now by simply writing: “What a joke.”
A second supporter blasted the officiating at the FIFA Club World Cup after coming across the news, stating: “The Club World Cup is such a joke, the officiating has been so utterly disgusting.”
A third Manchester City fan believes Lewis did not deserve a red card in the first place, writing: “He clearly played the ball way before the other player slid in with head on the floor. The fact it was a red card in the first place is insane.”
Another City fan made the same claim, as he believes the challenge warranted a yellow card at most: “That is at most a yellow card and they’ve somehow turned it into a three-game suspension.”
A fifth supporter believes the decision from FIFA is “overkill”, saying: “I’m sorry but this is beyond ridiculous. Surely it’s overkill? The replay clearly showed that he got the ball and was unable to pull out of the tackle. Can someone educate the refs on how momentum works?”
Finally, a sixth Manchester City fan believes Lewis caught Obeng’s face accidentally and the decision from FIFA is unquestionably incorrect: “I had just about got my head around it being a sending off. Perfectly clean tackle but the position of his boot (accidental) after he won the ball was high. There is no chance that warrants an additional two games.”
The youngster will now be ruled out of City’s games against Juventus as well as in the Round of 16.
How Rico Lewis privately feels about his red card vs Wydad AC
Nico O’Reilly revealed that much like the Manchester City fans, Lewis was upset about being shown a red card and he will likely be devastated about FIFA’s latest verdict.
O’Reilly said via the Daily Express: “Rico is just fuming with the decision because none of us believe it was the right decision.”
The City midfielder added: “I think he slid in first and then their player slid in second. He’s tried to move his leg out of the way and accidentally caught him. I think it was the wrong decision.”
