Rangers FC centre-back Gareth McAuley was involved in a bizarre incident this weekend as he featured for Northern Ireland in the Nations League.
Northern Ireland suffered a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Austria at Windsor Park as Valentino Lazaro scored the match-winning goal of the match with the final free kick of the game.
But during the match what caught everyone’s attention was Gareth McAuley and his bizarre decision to strangle Marko Arnautovic.
Gareth McAuley and Arnautovic tussled to get a high ball during which McAuley wrestled the West Ham United forward to the ground.
At first, it looks to be just a harsh tackle but immediately the incident caught fire and the players had to be separated by their respective teammates.
Later the television footage revealed that the Rangers centre-back has his arms around Marko Arnautovic’s neck and was maybe trying to prevent the striker from getting back onto his feet.
Arnautovic was involved in a confrontation with veteran defender Gareth McAuley on Sunday pic.twitter.com/MGj4lKUojy
— Lilian Chan (@bestgug) November 18, 2018
After the match, Marko Arnautovic was asked about the whole incident to why he replied:
“I’m not sure, he tried to choke me, or fight me, but it is not a good idea to fight me.”
Gareth McAuley joined Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side this summer on a free transfer but the experienced centre-back is yet to return back to match fitness.
Steven Gerrard has used him as a sub on a couple of occasions but his weird tackle on Marko Arnautovic clearly shows that Gareth McAuley is rusty.
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