Manchester City assistant coach pep lijnders will take charge of the Premier League trip to West Ham because Pep Guardiola has been handed a two-game touchline ban after receiving his sixth yellow card of the season. The match at the London Stadium kicks off at 8: 00pm ET on March 14 and Guardiola is also suspended for City’s FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool on April 4. The ban stems from accumulation rules set out by the FA that convert six cautions into a two-match suspension.
Pep Lijnders steps into the dugout
Club officials have confirmed that Pep Lijnders will oversee team duties on matchday in Guardiola’s absence, picking up responsibilities the manager will hand over after completing media obligations. Guardiola fulfilled his pre-match media duties ahead of the West Ham fixture and will not be permitted on the touchline for Premier League and FA Cup fixtures covered by the accumulation ban.
What Guardiola’s ban means on matchday
The FA framework in force awards a one-game suspension after three yellow cards and a two-game suspension after six; further thresholds exist at nine and twelve cautions. A manager serving a touchline ban may attend the stadium but must sit in the directors’ box or the stand opposite the technical area and is prohibited from being on the touchline or entering the field of play before and after the match. A manager cannot shout instructions to staff in the technical area or directly communicate with players during the match; they are still obliged to carry out interviews before and after the game.
When a manager is sent off in a match there are stricter limits: they cannot watch the rest of the game from the stands or conduct media activities, and the FA can extend a red-card sanction into a longer touchline or stadium ban. For extended touchline bans the manager may not enter the changing room 30 minutes before or after the game or at half-time. If a manager has been banned from a stadium entirely, they cannot enter the ground on the day their team is playing there.
Immediate reactions and precedent
Pep Guardiola commented on the sanction, saying: “We have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I want all records and now I have it. Two-game ban now and I will go on holidays the next two games. There are things after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku and all my teams. ” The booking that triggered the suspension followed an on-pitch confrontation involving a foul on Jeremy Doku and an exchange with fourth official Lewis Smith.
Historical precedent shows the FA can impose stadium bans in severe cases; Jose Mourinho received a one-game stadium ban in 2014 after an abusive rant at a referee. New regulations introduced for the 2025-26 campaign mean accumulation bans apply to league and FA Cup matches but not to European fixtures or domestic cup finals, allowing Guardiola to remain eligible for certain finals despite the suspension elsewhere.
What happens next
In Guardiola’s absence pep lijnders will carry the matchday duties at West Ham on March 14 at 8: 00pm ET, with the manager also missing the FA Cup quarter-final on April 4. City remain scheduled for a domestic cup final on March 22 with a 4: 30pm ET kickoff that is exempt from accumulation bans under the current rules, and the club will need to adapt its sideline communications and in-stadium logistics while Guardiola serves the two-game touchline suspension.
