FA Reportedly Asks Pep Guardiola to Explain Nathan Redmond Confrontation

The FA has reportedly asked Pep Guardiola to explain his heated confrontation with Nathan Redmond at the final whistle of Manchester City's 2-1 win over Southampton on Wednesday, despite the player confirming the manager was in fact complimenting him. 

According to The Sun's Duncan Wright, FA officials touched base with City on Friday morning as part of a probe into the incident, which saw Guardiola grab Redmond at full-time and gesticulate at him.

However, Redmond took to Twitter to explain what happened and disputed a report from The Sun, which reported Guardiola had called him a "w--ker" based on a lip reader's interpretation of the footage:

The Southampton star's version of events corroborates the City manager's.

Per Wright, Guardiola said after the match: "I was telling Nathan Redmond how good he is at the end. Southampton have some super talented players, Redmond is so good one against one."

Nevertheless, the incident has sparked debate in the football community as to whether Guardiola's actions crossed a line.

The Telegraph's James Ducker suggested the FA might examine it and offered a comparison with the treatment of Guardiola's great rival Jose Mourinho:

Sachin Nakrani of the Guardian also noted the contrast in treatment the pair tend to receive, but he does not believe the incident warrants any action to be taken:

Meanwhile, sports writer Jonas Giaever played down the incident:

Guardiola had a similar episode during his time at Bayern Munich when he engaged with Joshua Kimmich in a heated exchange moments after a match against Borussia Dortmund. 

As in this case, both coach and player were quick to clarify it was not an argument but rather Guardiola giving him some advice.

Given Redmond confirmed that "nothing negative or offensive was said towards me from Pep," it's difficult to imagine any action being taken against him as a result, save perhaps for a warning.