The FA have confirmed that Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will serve a four-match ban following his sending off against Chelsea on Saturday, and rightly so.
His outrageous lunge on David Luiz, provoked by nothing other than his own frustration, was a disgrace, but the reason for the ban being longer than the standard three matches for a straight red, is because he has already served a ban of that length for violent conduct this season, an elbow on West Ham's Winston Reid.
Sergio Aguero is a gifted footballer, arguably the best striker in the Premier League, and someone who is one of maybe two players described as "genuine world class" by pundits when they are asked about the quality of players in the Premier League (Alexis Sanchez being the other)... But he is no angel.
When things aren't going his way, he loses his head, and acts out in ways that baffle those watching. Sound familiar?
Luis Suarez and Diego Costa are two strikers who have that same habit. When they get wound up, there's no telling what they might do, and they are vilified for it. The way Diego Costa was talked about at times last season, you would swear he was guilty of crimes against humanity. Some of it was justified, to be fair, as he was a right little bollocks, but what is the narrative around him now?
He's "changed", he's "calmed down"... He was directly asked by Sky Sports (via a David Luiz translation) at the weekend what has changed for him... He's winning now. That's what has changed.
Luis Suarez, the best striker the Premier League has seen in the last decade, was another one. Given a 10 match ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic (which is far more shocking to be fair) he was the Premier League's "bad boy", a wildcard who would make jaws hit the floor either through his sublime skill and clinical finishing, or by acting out like a lunatic.
But this was when he played in a Liverpool team as likely to be beaten 2-0 at home to West Brom as they were to win away at Man City. Now he's at Barcelona, winning and scoring every week, and when was the last time you heard about him lashing out? Funny, that.
So let's look at Sergio Aguero.
That horrific challenge on David Luiz has been seen by everyone, so there's no need to take another look, but did you spot this moment of subtle shithousery when Chelsea's Gary Cahill scored an own goal earlier in the match?
Uncalled for, and nasty. The same can and has been said about the challenge that saw him sent off.
Then there is his stamp in the FA Cup Final, again on David Luiz, that he escaped retrospective punishment for.. If that was Diego Costa he would have been banned for 8 games.
Is he excused for these moments because of his ability? He's never in the tabloids like the other two examples, he never gets the focus of MOTD analysis pointing out that he's rogue, instead he seems to be excused because his "moments" are less frequent. But they are rooted in the same thing that Suarez and Costa are vilified for. The red-mist.
I'm not looking for everyone to turn on Aguero and run him out of English football with pitch-forks, but it bothers me that he gets the "not that type of player" cliche when he, evidently, is.
He's not alone. Elite sportsmen often have this 'refuse to lose' mentality that sees them act out when things don't go to plan, but Aguero seems to be one of the only guys that get's away with it.
He's an outstanding player, but he's also prone to moments that reflect very poorly on him and his team.
Again, it's time to stress that this isn't a personal attack on Aguero. He is someone who is held in really high regard by his teammates, a "great bloke" if you will, and I am sure that he is indeed if you were to meet him or whatever, but again, so are Suarez and Costa.
Ask someone like Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher what they think about Luis Suarez around the place, and they'll tell you the sun shines out of his arse. They can't speak highly enough about him. Look at any Chelsea player's Instagram, and you'll see Diego Costa leaving his teammates in fits of laughter and brightening everybody's day.. But when they cross the white line, when they face moments of intense pressure and things go against them, you'll never know what you'll get.
Sergio Aguero is the same way. So the big quetsion.. Why doesn't he have the same rep? It's because his track-record is not as prolific, but maybe this moment will be the turning point.
