Dean Henderson reveals exactly what he said to Pep Guardiola to spark FA Cup final row

Dean Henderson had a dramatic day at Wembley as he stepped up to win the FA Cup with Crystal Palace after a controversial afternoon and his comments certainly raised eyebrows

19:10, 17 May 2025Updated 19:13, 17 May 2025

Dean Henderson speaks after Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win(Image: ITV Football)

Dean Henderson’s cheeky added time comment towards Pep Guardiola was the catalyst for a furious FA Cup final argument. The Crystal Palace goalkeeper was at the heart of a controversial incident during the game.

He appeared to handball when outside of the penalty area, with neither the referee nor VAR thinking it was worthy of a red card. And Henderson then proved to be crucial as he saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty and produced a number of other stops as the Eagles secured their first-ever FA Cup.

The drama was not finished there as Henderson was spotted having an angry exchange with City boss Guardiola after the final whistle. And speaking in the midst of Palace’s jubilant celebrations, he revealed what was said between him and the Spaniard.

Speaking to ITV Sport, he said: “I just went to shake his hand but obviously I think he was disappointed with the time wasting. I said ‘you got the 10 minutes that you wanted’. No hard feelings.”

And asked about the controversial decision to keep him on the pitch, he claimed he did not have much of a clue what was actually happening during the review.

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Henderson added: “I didn’t know it was for me in all honesty. I knew it came into the box. I wasn’t sure what they were doing it for. I asked Chilly down the side who they were doing it for and he said yeah but who cares? It doesn’t matter. I’m not bothered.”

Meanwhile, another of Henderson’s crucial interventions was to parry away Marmoush’s penalty. And interestingly, he admitted that he knew exactly which way the Egyptian would go, but was somewhat in the dark had Erling Haaland stepped up at Wembley.

He said: “To be fair, Haaland might have stepped up. He gave it to Marmoush and I knew which way he was going. I knew I would save it.”

Pep Guardiola exchanges words with Dean Henderson

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Away from the controversy, Henderson made sure to dedicate Palace’s victory to his Dad who lost last year. Speaking in a further interview with BBC Sport, he said: “I lost my dad at the start of the season, but he was with me today. He was with me every kick of the game. I dedicate that win to him.”