McArthur plays down Pearson incident

Crystal Palace’s James McArthur has played down an altercation with Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson in Saturday’s Premier League clash.

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson’s touchline altercation with James McArthur has been “blown out of proportion”, according to the Crystal Palace midfielder.

With the pair prone on the floor after a late challenge near the touchline had sent the Palace player tumbling into the Leicester boss on Saturday, Pearson jokingly grabbed McArthur around the throat, before holding onto his shirt as he tried to walk back onto the pitch.

The incident in the 1-0 Premier League victory for the Londoners at the King Power Stadium drew plenty of attention on social media, but Pearson was keen to play it down in his post-match press conference, saying: “I have absolutely no problem today at all with the lad”.

And likewise, McArthur took to Sport Lobster to add his view, posting: “Situation with me and Nigel Pearson is getting blown out of proportion”.