Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, will be absent from the dugout during their upcoming clash against Everton on Sunday due to a touchline ban imposed under the new Premier League rules.
This ban comes after Ten Hag received a yellow card during United’s 1-0 victory over Luton Town before the international break. He had previously been booked in defeats against Tottenham and Arsenal earlier this season.
Acknowledging the situation, Ten Hag stated, “To a certain point, of course you have to accept decisions, and I should do as well. We have a very competent coaching staff, and they will take over. Of course, to a certain point, I can be involved, but I can say my coaching staff is very competent.”
Under the updated rules, the threshold for a touchline ban has been reduced from four yellow cards to three for the current season. This has led to bans for other managers, including Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Fulham’s Marco Silva.
Reflecting on his own situation, Guardiola mentioned after a match, “When I was a player at Barcelona, I was the least physical player ever but maybe I was one of the most booked players in Barcelona because I always talk and talk [at the officials]. Now as a manager, it is the same.”
He added, “I’d love to get no cards, I’d like to control [myself] – I will try to do it – but I cannot assure you 100 percent that I will.”
As United currently occupies the sixth position in the table, having won four of their last five league games, Everton finds themselves second bottom following a ten-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
Everton plans to appeal this punishment, deeming it a “wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.”