What Sergio Agüero Did to Sian Massey-Ellis Was Not Ok – Just Ask Any Woman

Sergio Agüero puts his hand on the assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
Sergio Agüero puts his hand on the assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
TT
20

What Sergio Agüero Did to Sian Massey-Ellis Was Not Ok – Just Ask Any Woman

Sergio Agüero puts his hand on the assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
Sergio Agüero puts his hand on the assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory against Arsenal on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

After Sergio Agüero had vented his frustrations at Sian Massey-Ellis for not awarding a throw-in in the 41st minute of Manchester City’s 1-0 win against Arsenal on Saturday, the official walked away. Agüero then reached out and grabbed the base of the 35-year-old’s neck. Eyes firmly forward, Massey-Ellis flinched out of his touch and brushed it off.

It was over in a flash. But social media exploded. Clips of the incident went viral. I was one of those to watch, cringe, and tweet – “Disgraceful, unprofessional and patronizing.” Within 24 hours my post had 8,800 likes, 716 retweets, and 236 comments.

So many men felt the need to reply with photos of male footballers up close and personal with various referees: Paul Pogba with a hand on a bald head; Lionel Messi with a hand on a shoulder; Cristiano Ronaldo nose-to-nose; and Agüero himself, with a finger pointed into a chest. Some claimed that pointing out the inappropriateness of the incident with Massey-Ellis was in fact sexist – they had caught this feminist out, and many delighted in their cleverness. Those were the more measured replies among several less tasteful ones.

These responses are why it is not OK to brush aside these incidents without comment. Firstly, no player should be touching match officials. By July 2016, the problem was deemed to be so common that the Premier League, English Football League, and the Football Association came together to introduce the rule that a yellow card would be issued to a player “for physical contact with any match official in a non-aggressive manner (eg an inquisitive approach to grab the official’s attention)”, while a red card would be issued for contact in “an aggressive or confrontational manner”.

That rule has not stopped contact, but it does give important power to the officials. That there was no immediate action taken against Agüero suggests Massey-Ellis did not report it. That does not mean it was not inappropriate, however.

Once again Massey-Ellis has found herself at the center of a sexism storm, not of her own making, and for many women working in football being seen to be making a fuss is potentially career stalling and, at worst, career ending.

“Myself and Wendy Toms were the first two women that came through the men’s professional game in the 90s,” says Janie Frampton, a former referee. “Both of us have said so many times since that we probably had too high a tolerance level at the time because we just wanted to fit in. Now, we’ve come on 30 years and we are still experiencing the same issues … Wendy and I were treated as a circus – I don’t want that to still be the case now.”

As the abuse resulting from my tweet continued to pour in, so did the replies from women, many who work in football in some capacity, creating a collective sigh at behaviour which, for them, feels all too familiar. One message came from a grassroots female referee thanking me for commenting on the issue they face “on a weekly basis” but feel they would be “laughed at” if they called it out.

Why these responses? Because women are sick of being touched inappropriately. Watching Agüero pull Massey-Ellis from behind and squeeze her neck, watching her eyes stay glued forward as she flinched away and seeing his hand slide across her back as he went to leave, resonated with our collective experience as women. Many may argue it was harmless, non-aggressive, playful, even a defusing of the situation, but it was not OK. It is not OK to touch a woman like that in her place of work, it is not OK to touch a woman like that in a club, it is not OK to touch a woman like that in a bar, it is not OK to touch a woman like that on a football pitch.

It would be hard to find a woman who has not had to cross a road to make sure they are not being followed, has not been inappropriately touched at some point, has not walked down a street holding their keys as an emergency weapon, has not turned music off at night to avoid hindering their senses, has not had someone touch their shoulder and been scared. This is the reality for women everywhere and this is the context.

Agüero has not commented on the incident and Pep Guardiola’s defense of him did not help matters. “Hey, come on guys. Come on guys,” he pleaded after City’s win on Saturday night. “Sergio is the nicest person I ever met in my life. We can look at the problems in other situations but not in this one. Come on.” The problem, Guardiola, is that nice guys are capable of doing bad things.

So, yes, male footballers touch referees, but there is a social and cultural context within which Agüero’s handling of Massey-Ellis exists and the fact Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the organizing body for match officials, did not deem Agüero’s actions to have been threatening or aggressive, and thus worthy of retrospective punishment, shows they too perhaps just don’t get it.

(The Guardian)



Luka Modric Signs with AC Milan After 13 Seasons at Real Madrid

 Luka Modric, AC Milan's new signing, arrives at the Madonnina clinic for medical examinations in Milan, Monday, July 14, 2025. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Luka Modric, AC Milan's new signing, arrives at the Madonnina clinic for medical examinations in Milan, Monday, July 14, 2025. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
TT
20

Luka Modric Signs with AC Milan After 13 Seasons at Real Madrid

 Luka Modric, AC Milan's new signing, arrives at the Madonnina clinic for medical examinations in Milan, Monday, July 14, 2025. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Luka Modric, AC Milan's new signing, arrives at the Madonnina clinic for medical examinations in Milan, Monday, July 14, 2025. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)

At age 39, Luka Modric is going to try and help restore seven-time European champion AC Milan to glory after one of the most disappointing Rossoneri seasons in recent memory.

The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner signed a one-year contract with Milan on Monday after saying goodbye to Real Madrid following 13 highly successful seasons in Spain. The deal includes an option for another season.

Modric grew up supporting Milan because his idol and fellow Croat, Zvonimir Boban, played for the club in the 1990s.

Modric announced in May that he was leaving Madrid after helping the Spanish powerhouse to 28 titles: Six European Cups, six Club World Cups, five European Super Cups, four Spanish leagues, two Copas del Rey and five Spanish Super Cups.

Milan finished eighth in Serie A last season and missed out on a spot in Europe.

The Italian club rehired Massimiliano Allegri as coach after the season, replacing the fired Sergio Conceicao.

Allegri won the Italian league for the first time with Milan in 2011, then guided Juventus to five straight titles from 2015-19.

Allegri reportedly called former Madrid and Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti to ask about Modric's form. Then new Milan sporting director Igli Tare traveled to Croatia's training camp last month to seal the deal with Modric.

The deal was made before the Club World Cup but Modric couldn't join his new club until he finished playing for Madrid at the tournament in the United States.

Madrid was beaten 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals in Modric's final match with the club.