Sergio Aguero Should Not Be Punished for His Post-Match Antics vs. Villarreal

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler wrote a brilliant piece Monday analyzing the much-publicized and maligned post-game bust-up between Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh, head coaches of the NFL's Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers, respectively.

One could chalk up Ostler's purported defense of hometown hero Harbaugh as inherently biased, but the Chronicle writer, who has a penchant for expressing opinion in a brilliantly irreverent manner, listed some very good arguments as to why Harbaugh didn't deserve the public chastising he received in various chat rooms and blogospheres around the country.

When the final whistle had blown on the 49ers' 25-19 win over the Lions, Harbaugh had rushed across the field, jumping madly, chest-bumping players.

It was his team's—and to a greater extent, Harbaugh's—biggest win of the season. San Francisco had traveled to Detroit and proceeded to knock off the previously undefeated Lions, propelling their own record to 5-1 along the way.

They had a right to be excited. Harbaugh just went a little overboard.

Harbaugh finally met up with Schwartz for the customary post-game handshake, but was a bit too excited to his counterpart's liking.

Schwartz took exception to what he deemed a lack of professionalism, and proceeded to run after Harbaugh, looking all the while as if he was raring for a fight (talk about professionalism...) after a game in which the Lions boss had been caught on camera antagonizing his opposite number.

On Monday, Schwartz had labeled Harbaugh's antics as having violated football's "protocol." The Lions boss has a point, but so does Harbaugh.

Ostler makes a superb point in his piece when he says that sports have become too "chummy."

Expecting NFL coaches—who have just spent three hours racking their brains as to how best to beat their opposite number—to immediately absolve themselves of that competitive streak is wholly unrealistic. It takes a while to cool down an overheated engine.

For Harbaugh, it came in the form of a little-too-playful high five, to which Schwartz took exception. Fair enough, but it can end there. Harbaugh has learned his lesson. There was nothing malicious in his action.

In a similar vein, ESPN Soccernet reported that Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was accused by Villarreal vice president Jose Manuel Llaneza of "taunting" his players in the tunnel following the two teams' Champions League match. In that Soccernet article, Llaneza was quoted as claiming:

''What he has done doesn't say much about the guy. I think it's a lack of respect, ethics and team spirit. I thought he had learned better. I don't understand why he would mock fellow players for losing. I'm not saying it because of the result. We lost and we lost, and that's it. Aguero is a player who should thank Spain very much.''

Llaneza was joined in his claim by Yellow Submarine defender Carlos Marchena, who said, ''In football you have to have class, especially in times like this. What Aguero did is not acceptable. These situations are a shame and are a mark of the man who does it.''

Aguero vehemently denied these claims, writing on his Twitter account:

''I have no interest in getting involved in controversies, but I have to deny having mocked a Villareal [sic] player. Everyone can attest to my discipline and professionalism, I wouldn't do something like that.''

Here's a thought: even if Aguero did taunt an opposing player, does it deserve disciplinary action? Is he really a worse man because of it? Countless players have made careers of being thorns in their opponents' sides.

Former NBA player Gary Payton was one of the all-time greats at getting in his opponents' heads. It's a very effective ploy.

Where was the suspension, after all, for Jose Mourinho when he embarked upon an end-to-end run after his Inter Milan side had knocked out FC Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League semifinals?

Mourinho had just done what many deemed impossible—he had gone to the Camp Nou and knocked out Barcelona, considered the best team in the world.

In some ways, he was entitled to a little tooting-of-the-horn. Like Ostler says about Harbaugh in his article, is taunting going a bit too far? Perhaps.

Who hasn't ever attempted to elicit a response from an opposing player (nice euphemism for taunting) during a game? It's part and parcel of sport, and if you don't like it you should find another occupation.

If Aguero did in fact mock Villarreal players, it's certainly not exactly the sort of model behavior Manchester City would want or expect from one of their biggest stars.

It's difficult to denigrate a man for showing exuberance. It's nearly impossible to snuff out a trait at this stage in his life. He's a grown man. He can stand up for his own actions, vainglorious as they might be at times.

But as Ostler so eloquently put, it's somewhat refreshing to see a bit of real from a professional athlete.

After all, "if [kids] can't watch football coaches shaking hands after games, where will our nation's youth learn to express the false sincerity they'll need to be successful adults?" (San Francisco Chronicle)

Aguero didn't harm anyone in this process—that would be another matter entirely.

He probably just vented some of the jubilation he felt from scoring the match winner (the game ended 2-1), and he probably went over the top.

He'll learn he has to watch himself at all times, realizing that it behooves him to use the constant vigilance required of top Premier League athletes who are subjected to incessant media attention.

At the very worst, it was a bit of banter from him. It's hard to get mad at someone for doing that.