Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has apologized for going all MMA on Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross on Saturday. The Belgian international, all hair and no brain in this case, head butted, elbowed and struck Shawcross at various points of the team’s contest Saturday, a 1-1 draw with Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
Shawcross was no angel in this ongoing tussle, doing the instigating with grabbing and holding during Everton corner kicks. (Still, big credit to Shawcross for keeping his cool about it all, refusing to ever be rattled and happily coming back for more each time.)
Still, what Fellaini did needs dealing with, and we should expect the league to have something to say about all this. Most likely in a suspension. That’s too bad, because Everton is doing so well in the table; Saturday’s draw dropped David Moyes’ men one spot into fifth, but that’s still a great place for the frugal club from Liverpool.
Fellaini did, at least, apologize.I apologize completely to Ryan Shawcross, my team-mates and to our fans at the game. There was a lot of pushing and pulling going on inside the Stoke penalty area and I didn’t feel I was getting any protection from the officials. Nevertheless I know I shouldn’t have done what I did.
“I have also apologized to the manager and the staff. I have no excuses, I was disappointed with the way I was being treated and I lost my temper, which was unprofessional of me.”
Lost his temper once? Yeah, we get it. But this stuff kept going on.
For his part, Moyes sounds like he won’t be in the mood to protest any sanction coming down: “I’ve told him [Fellaini] in the dressing room that it’s not acceptable, and whatever he’s handed out, he and us deserve.”