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Pep Guardiola issued stern Wembley warning just minutes into Carabao Cup Final
Mar 22 2026 18:12 · By Andy Dunn/Chief Sports Writer · 27 Reads
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Barely ten minutes had elapsed in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley and Pep Guardiola was already in trouble with officialdom.
No surprise there. After all, this is a manager who has collected six yellow cards this season and has served one match of a two-game suspension. Age and experience have not mellowed the Manchester City manager.
Guardiola was allowed into the Wembley technical area as the ban does not apply to the Carabao Cup, but there was never any chance of him being on his best behaviour. And not long into the contest, fourth official Tom Bramall was marching from his position to fire a warning, telling Guardiola to get back into his designated area.
The Manchester City manager had stomped a good 20 yards down the touchline to shout instructions at Nathan Ake and others after Arsenal had made the much more impressive start to the contest.
Bramall went after Guardiola and gave him the crossed-hands gesture which told Pep not to repeat the offence. That did not go down well with the City boss, who was clearly unhappy with his team’s unconvincing start.
While there are strong rumours this could be Guardiola’s last season in English football, no one could suggest his passion has in any way diminished.
Guardiola served the first game of his ban at West Ham recently and will have to sit in the stands for the FA Cup quarter-final clash against Liverpool on April 4.
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His second booking came during the FA Cup win at St James’ Park earlier this month, prompting Pep to say: “I will tell you something - we have all the records in this country, all of them, despite everything.
"We have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I want all records and now I have it, two-game ban now and I will go on holidays the next two games.”
New regulations introduced this season mean Premier League managers are suspended for one game once they have received three yellow cards, while six cautions will result in a two-match ban.
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