Man City player says Sterling could’ve told referee it wasn’t penalty, would be ‘nice attitude’

Just like Pep Guardiola, Manchester City player Danilo has also claimed Raheem Sterling could’ve told the referee that he wasn’t fouled in the box against Shakhtar Donetsk.

The English player stumbled inside the box on the 23rd minute in the Champions League game, with the official giving City the chance to score their second goal of the 6-0 win.

Danilo has spoken to Esporte Interativo after the match, and when asked if Sterling could have said something, he claims that it would have been a ‘nice act.’

“It’s very fast, right. You’re in there, it’s very fast. Really I also think it wasn’t a penalty, I saw the video later, and at the time I also thought it wasn’t a penalty. This can happen. The referees are human beings, sometimes they make mistakes in our favour, sometimes mistakes in favour of the opponents.”

“Well, if Sterling had told the referee that it wasn’t a penalty, it would be a nice attitude, a nice gesture. But anyway, it’s football. The referees may make mistakes and I think that was not what influenced the outcome of the match.”

Now on top of Group F with nine points, Manchester City only need to beat Lyon in the next fixture to confirm their qualification in first place.