Cardiff City's Joe Bennett was the villain of the piece earlier in the season, as his tackle on Manchester City's Leroy Sane prompted a raft of debate.

Both managers were critical of the challenge, City boss Pep Guardiola condemned the challenge, whilst Neil Warnock forced Bennett to train in isolation and signed left back Armand Traore from Nottingham Forest.

Joe Bennett seemingly found himself cast out in the cold.

"It was difficult to deal with (because of) the magnitude of the team we were playing," Bennett told Wales Online.

"Any other team it probably wouldn’t have been on TV. The fact it was on TV and everyone saw it, meant it got blown out of all proportion."

Bennett reveals there was no intent in the challenge, one he later apologised to Sane for.

"I did catch him but I didn't mean to. I'd only had one red card in my career before that so I’m not the type of person to injure a fellow player on purpose. I didn't mean to do it, I meant to bring him down but not to catch him in the way I did."

Former England U21 defender Bennett joined Cardiff from Aston Villa in the summer and has made 32 appearances this season.

The Verdict

I think Bennett is right. I didn't think the tackle was that serious and yet he was vilified in the press for it. I was surprised how his own manager dealt with it, but the player's character has shown through. He's won his first team place back and he'll be stronger for it.

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