Paul Pogba has broken his silence on the foul which has ruled him out of Manchester United’s next three Premier League fixtures.
A challenge which saw Pogba stamp on the calf of Arsenal full back Hector Bellerin earned the Frenchman a straight red card during Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Gunners.
United decided against appealing the red card, despite the insistence of both Pogba and manager Jose Mourinho that there was no intent or malice in the tackle.
The 24-year-old played a starring role for United in the Champions League on Tuesday night, when they finished top of Group A thanks to a comeback victory at home to CSKA Moscow.
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And while he initially stated “No comment” after the Arsenal match, Pogba has since broken his silence on the incident.
“I didn’t really speak after the game – I didn’t have time – but I think I know Hector as well and I would never give him a tackle like this,” Pogba said.
“Unfortunately, for me, I thought he would put his feet there and he was in a position that was a disadvantage for me so I did it.
“It looks very bad but the intention wasn’t like that. They had the decision, the referee got the red card and that’s football.”
Pogba received a lot of criticism for his claims that he’d wished that some Manchester City players would pick up injuries ahead of this weekend’s derby and City fans believed that his red card, and subsequent ban, was karma coming back to bite United’s record signing in the backside.
City boss Pep Guardiola and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne proved their class by insisting that they’d hoped Pogba would have been able to play as both would have preferred a clash with a full-strength United side.
Pogba, meanwhile, remains philosophical about his inability to affect the outcome at Old Trafford on Sunday.
“I think we are all playing football to play those kind of games and unfortunately for me, I won’t play,” he said.
“That’s destiny. I say destiny because I cannot go back in the past. You have to think about the future, the present, obviously, and then after it’s the future.”
