Gary Neville shared, during Sky Sports’ coverage of Leeds v Arsenal, that both Pepe and Ezgjan Alioski were going at one another ‘minutes before’ the Arsenal man was sent off against Leeds.
In the second half, Pepe was shown a straight red card when he was adjudged to have headbutted the Leeds man during Arsenal’s goalless draw at Elland Road.
There wasn’t much action during the game, so it seems the Leeds and Arsenal duo were having some of their own fun and were going at one each other, for some time, off the ball.
After the incident took place, Neville felt on commentary that Pepe ‘falls for it’, and in the end, he was the one given his marching orders.
“This is a couple of minutes before where they have got a little bit of something going on [Pepe and Alisoki are pushing one another off the ball]. You can see them bumping off each other.
“So, they have started a couple of minutes before. Alioski hassling him. This is the one where he puts his arm on his face then they stand up to each other again.
“He falls for it, Pepe.”
From the perspective of Pepe, he shouldn’t have reacted and instead done his talking with the ball.
But these things have happened many a time before and will continue to happen in the game.
Pepe will be glad that, in the end, it didn’t cost his team the game as they recorded a much-needed clean sheet and point away from home.
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