MANCHESTER CITY STRIKER Sergio Aguero claims foreign stars are more likely to be accused of diving by referees than their English counterparts.
Aguero was furious that the Premier League champions had two strong penalty appeals for fouls on Carlos Tevez and Pablo Zabaleta rejected by referee Mark Halsey during City’s 2-1 win at Fulham on Saturday.
The Argentine striker, who scored City’s equaliser at Craven Cottage, believes foreign players are regarded as more likely to dive than homegrown stars and he called on referees to show more consistency.
Asked if foreign players have it tougher than English players, he said: “Yes, always. It happens everywhere.
“There is a little bit of privilege with players who come from that country, but that is normal.
“We just play our game, and the referee’s job is to know who is tricking him and who is not.
“Here in England, there are almost as many foreign players as English players and it’s not right that some have a privilege that others don’t.”
City also conceded a harsh penalty against Fulham when Zabaleta tangled with Fulham’s Norway defender John Arne Riise, but Aguero insisted the Premier League champions must not dwell on the decisions for long as it would prove a distraction to their title defence.
“I try not to get involved with problems involving referees,” Aguero said.
“There will always be mistakes for any team and he got the decision on the Fulham penalty wrong, but that can happen in any game.
“All we can do is not let that get to us and just keep on playing our game.”
