Phil Foden has been left out of the Manchester City squad for their clash against Crystal Palace, less than a week after Manchester United fans taunted him with vile chants about his mother.
Foden, 24, came under fire during a limp 0-0 stalemate in the Manchester derby last week, as sections of Old Trafford’s home support labelled his mother, Claire Rowlands, 44, a ‘s**g’ while he was playing.
In the aftermath of the draw, a furious Guardiola leapt to the defence of his star man, who has endured a difficult season for City.
‘It’s a lack of class,’ said Guardiola. ‘But it’s not United, it’s the people, you know? We are so exposed, people who are on the screen in world football: managers, owners, and football players especially.
‘Honestly, I don’t understand the mind of the people involving the mum of Phil. It’s a lack of integrity, class, and they should be ashamed.’
And, for Saturday’s lunchtime Premier League clash against Palace, Foden was nowhere to be seen in City’s squad as teams were announced 75 minutes ahead of kick off.
Phil Foden has been left out of the Man City squad for their clash against Crystal Palace
It comes less than a week after his mother (left) Claire Rowlands, 44 (pictured with Foden in December 2018), was subjected to ‘vile’ chants from Man United fans in the Manchester derby
City boss Pep Guardiola condemned the ‘shameful’ chants towards Rowlands after the match
Addressing reporters ahead of kick off, Guardiola explained Foden’s absence and revealed it wasn’t down to the chants.
He said: ‘Foden suffered an injury at Old Trafford and he hasn’t recovered well.’
Meanwhile, speaking on Friday, Guardiola had provided an update on Foden and Grealish, who was slapped in the face by a United fan following the game.
‘He doesn’t feel good but we move forward,’ he explained when asked about the pair.
‘It’s a crazy world. Nobody is away from that. It’s not about United, it’s not a problem of a specific club or department in world football. It’s beyond that person. It happens everywhere.’
Elsewhere, Foden’s instant reaction to the chants had been revealed in footage circulating on social media.
In a video shared to social media platform TikTok on Sunday, Foden can be seen ironically clapping the supporters and giving them a thumbs up while inside United’s penalty area, before defiantly gesturing for them to continue.
Foden later took to Instagram with a three-word message – ‘we keep going’ – after the dull derby ended 0-0.
United have privately condemned the chants, but the FA won’t take further action against the club.
Rowlands has been in the public eye on a number of occasions in recent years. In January 2024, footage was released of her being put in handcuffs and thrown out of a Welsh nightclub after knocking a hat from a fellow partygoer’s head.
The incident, which occurred at a Bentley’s nightclub in Towyn, Wales, took place on September 9 2023, just hours after Foden came off the bench to play for England in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
The 52-second clip, shown in court, showed Rowlands aggressively confronting police officers who were called to the scene.
Challenging the officers, she said: ‘Go on then, what’ve I done? Don’t come into my face unless you’ve got evidence.’
Another friend said, ‘No, she’s coming home with me’, as officers replied, ‘She’s staying with us for a minute.’
Rowlands was cleared of assault and but fined for her behaviour after she admitted to police: ‘I do not drink often but when I do, I make up for time. I am like an animal.’
She said: ‘I was drunk. It was just a bit of fun, a bit of banter. I just could not believe it, that I could get into trouble for knocking someone’s cap off. It’s my party trick, knocking someone’s cap off and putting it back on.
‘I did not mean him any harm or to hurt him and you can see that on the video. It was just a bit of banter which has been taken the wrong way.’
Rowlands also made headlines late last year after upsetting her neighbours by holding a ‘deafening two-hour fireworks party’ in the back garden of her house in leafy Cheshire.
Residents in the upmarket lane in Prestbury had to calm terrified pets and infants when the ‘display-standard’ pyrotechnics began and claimed they were given no warning by Rowlands of the event which lasted from 6pm until 8.30pm on a week night in November.
Rowlands was also shockingly attacked backstage when she attended Amir Khan’s boxing fight against Kell Brook alongside Foden in 2022.
Social media footage showed an assailant punching Foden’s mother backstage after the City star had been harassed and verbally abused in a corridor at Manchester’s AO Arena.
Foden was subjected to a string of obscenities, including a homophobic slur, and was led back to the family’s private lounge.
The incident escalated, leading to Rowlands being shockingly hit in the face. Another member of Foden’s group later picked up a fire extinguisher as they attempted to defend the player.
Meanwhile, Foden credits his mother and father for his meteoric rise in football, where he burst onto the scene as a teenager before being taken under Pep Guardiola’s wing at City.
Towards the end 2017, just a year after Foden had broken through at City, the young midfielder thanked his mother Claire and Manchester United-supporting father Phil Foden Sr. for the support they gave him during his journey into football.
‘Family,’ the touching message on Instagram read. ‘Thank you to my mum and Dad who have made all this possible.
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