Rayan Cherki apologises after wearing Hugo Ekitike's shirt on subs bench

Rayan Cherki raised his hand to apologise after he was told to remove Hugo Ekitike's shirt during the second-half of Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool.

The 22-year-old, who was one of City's standout performers on Saturday afternoon, was replaced in the 71st minute by Tijjani Reijnders.

Cherki proceeded to swap shirts with France international teammate Hugo Ekitike, who had also been replaced in the second-half as Liverpool trailed 4-0 at the Etihad.

And moments later, in a quite frankly bizarre moment, the City forward proceeded to wear the matchworn Liverpool jersey as he sat on the subs bench alongside Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Cherki was told to remove it almost immediately and, with a sheepish look on his face, the Frenchman raised his hand to apologise.

Soon, footage of the incident was shown on beIN Sports as fans rushed to social media to comment on Cherki's antics.

"It didn't go down well, especially with the medical staff behind him," said the presenter. "This guy, huh? Seriously."

Former Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos, who was on punditry duty for the FA Cup game, added: "He knows what he's doing. It's refreshing. He's one of those players. He doesn't have much filter. He just says how it is."

Fans react to Cherki wearing Ekitike's shirt in second-half of Man City vs Liverpool

Unsurprisingly, one of the big talking points from Saturday's game was the Cherki incident.

One fan wrote: "Moments like this highlight a deeper problem with attitude and awareness in top-level football," while another commented: "This is a joke. I don’t care if you’re international teammates, you wait until full time."

A third said: "Since the game was still on, it was wrong for Cherki to put on Ekitike's shirt regardless of the scoreline at that point."

A fourth added: "Cherki rage baits just for the love of the game. You can see him enjoying every second of it. What a player. Entertaining with and without the ball."

Never change, Rayan Cherki 😂#FACup #MCFC pic.twitter.com/X2PjWzC2Ue

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) April 4, 2026

Manchester City secured their place in the FA Cup semi-final with a convincing 4-0 victory over Arne Slot's side, as goals from Erling Haaland (3) and Antoine Semenyo sealed a memorable win.