Sergio Aguero questions bias towards English players

Sergio Aguero believes English players get better treatment from referees than their foreign counterparts.

The Manchester City forward, 24, scored the equaliser in the 2-1 victory over Fulham - where fellow Argentines Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez had penalty appeals turned down.

Asked if foreign players have it tougher than English players, he said: "Yes, always. It happens everywhere.

"There's a little bit of privilege with players who come from that country."

Asked if he thought referees were suspicious of foreign players, Aguero added: "Maybe, yes. It can happen, but I don't think it does here.

"If it does, it's not good for anyone.

"Here in England, there are almost as many foreign players as English players and it's not right that some have a privilege that others don't."

Meanwhile, the Argentine shared the same view as his manager Roberto Mancini in believing that a penalty should not have been awarded for Zabaleta's trip on Fulham full-back John Arne Riise. Mladen Petric scored from the spot to give the Cottagers the lead.

"I try not to get involved with problems involving referees," added the City striker.

"There will always be mistakes for any team and he got the decision [on the Fulham penalty] wrong but that can happen in any game.

"All we can do is not let that get to us and keep on playing our game."

Aguero's comments come a week after Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson said their Uruguayan Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez was a victim of his own reputation and was not being treated fairly by referees.

Suarez, 25, had a penalty appeal turned down in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United on 23 September. The forward has not won a spot-kick since the 2-1 defeat by Arsenal in March.

"It's down to referees to not judge him. I think even when Luis does get blatant penalties, now he doesn't get them," said Reds captain Gerrard.