Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about his approach to referees and VAR with his players after Arsenal controversy
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been left angered in recent weeks by referee decisions which they felt went against their team
Pep Guardiola (Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
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Pep Guardiola has told his Manchester City players not to expect any decisions from officials as they look to beat Arsenal to the Premier League title. The Gunners were given a late reprieve on Sunday as a West Ham injury-time equaliser was ruled out by the referee after consultation with VAR.
Guardiola did not comment on the specific incident where a foul was ruled on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya but said that when City are lost out on trophies because of refereeing calls, it is because they haven't been good enough themselves. If City are to pip their North London rivals, they will need to do it on their own terms.
That means beating Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Wednesday for a start, where the City manager may not be best pleased to see that the referee is Stuart Attwell - the man in the middle at Wembley last season when Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson somehow evaded a red card for punching the ball away from Erling Haaland while outside his area.
Guardiola also cited examples from the 2024 FA Cup final defeat to United - including one believed to be a penalty not given to City when Lisandro Martinez and Haaland came together - to make his point that City have to do better to rise above any decisions that don't go their way.
"We play in this game, we go to Bournemouth and the last game in Aston Villa we will do it too. The important one is tomorrow and we will see what happens to the next games," he said.
"I always learned that when you lose the focus, you are in a dangerous situation. The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control. We lost two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn’t do their jobs they should do, even the VAR. When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR. I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago.
"Always I learned you have do it better, do it better, be in a position to do it better because you blame yourself with what you have to do, because (VAR) is a flip of a coin. You have to do better and better for yourself, and that is focusing on Crystal Palace for us. Of course it is not in our hands in the Premier League.
"Always when I said to the players when I arrived here and Bayern Munich and Barcelona - do it, do it, do it better. The [other] one is a job for the institutions that rule the competition."