“We can fight this together”Pep Guardiola Already tells Mikel Arteta what to do to get Justice from nonsense VAR decision

OPINIONMan City coach Pep Guardiola shows up Mikel Arteta after Arsenal rant

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked about the standard of refereeing and maintained his consistent stance

Pep Guardiola greets Mikel Arteta
Pep Guardiola greets Mikel Arteta (Image: Arsenal)

Pep Guardiola has already been banned from the touchline this season for his conduct towards officials, but the Manchester City manager stopped well short of piling in on referees.

Having previously said he could completely understand Liverpool’s anger at the VAR failures for their game with Tottenham, Mikel Arteta’s meltdown at Newcastle could not draw any support from his former boss. Asked if the current standard of refereeing is at its lowest, Guardiola was about as non-commital as he could be on Monday morning.

“I don’t know. There have always been problems to solve,” he said. “It’s such a sensitive issue right now, what is happening in many games. It’s difficult for the referees and for all of us. I don’t know. I don’t have a clear opinion because I don’t know what position I am in.”

ALSO READ: Pep Guardiola gives Erling Haaland injury update

ALSO READ: Every word from Pep Guardiola and Rico Lewis

Guardiola’s attitude towards officials can often be seen as defeatist in that he rarely expects any meaningful change, but it is also pragmatic. There is no point in wasting attention with fights they cannot win, and players must take to the field expecting no favours if they are to take responsibility for their own performances.

Before anybody jumps in to comment as well, it isn’t as though City haven’t had reason to blow up in anger. A huge call went against them in the 2019 Champions League quarter-final when the referee wasn’t shown an angle that showed a Fernando Llorente handball in their defeat to Spurs, they suffered an abysmal game-changing decision in the derby last season and even a few weeks ago Hwang Hee-chan scored the winner for Wolves against them after getting away with what looked an obvious second yellow card.

Liverpool did have every right to be aggrieved at Tottenham, yet in making their explosive statement demanding ‘escalation and resolution’ they should be getting involved in decisions from other clubs if they want to appear as though they want genuine change rather than only shouting up when calls go against them. Given the way Arteta’s response to the Liverpool call was that “mistakes happen”, he is getting little sympathy for his outburst in the north-east and may want to look at the improvements his own team can make in preventing goals before screaming about what makes him sick.

In the week where UEFA are promoting a campaign to be a referee, perhaps Liverpool and Arsenal will go above and beyond in their support to recruit new talent. After all, one of the best ways of improving standards is to widen the pool and bring in healthy competition.

While breath is held on that, Guardiola and City won’t be wasting any time worrying about refereeing standards because their focus will be on their own performance. However angry Arteta and Arsenal are about their weekend defeat, the best statements tend to come from footballers on the pitch.

OPINIONMan City coach Pep Guardiola shows up Mikel Arteta after Arsenal rant

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked about the standard of refereeing and maintained his consistent stance

Pep Guardiola greets Mikel Arteta
Pep Guardiola greets Mikel Arteta (Image: Arsenal)

Pep Guardiola has already been banned from the touchline this season for his conduct towards officials, but the Manchester City manager stopped well short of piling in on referees.

Having previously said he could completely understand Liverpool’s anger at the VAR failures for their game with Tottenham, Mikel Arteta’s meltdown at Newcastle could not draw any support from his former boss. Asked if the current standard of refereeing is at its lowest, Guardiola was about as non-commital as he could be on Monday morning.

“I don’t know. There have always been problems to solve,” he said. “It’s such a sensitive issue right now, what is happening in many games. It’s difficult for the referees and for all of us. I don’t know. I don’t have a clear opinion because I don’t know what position I am in.”

ALSO READ: Pep Guardiola gives Erling Haaland injury update

ALSO READ: Every word from Pep Guardiola and Rico Lewis

Guardiola’s attitude towards officials can often be seen as defeatist in that he rarely expects any meaningful change, but it is also pragmatic. There is no point in wasting attention with fights they cannot win, and players must take to the field expecting no favours if they are to take responsibility for their own performances.

Before anybody jumps in to comment as well, it isn’t as though City haven’t had reason to blow up in anger. A huge call went against them in the 2019 Champions League quarter-final when the referee wasn’t shown an angle that showed a Fernando Llorente handball in their defeat to Spurs, they suffered an abysmal game-changing decision in the derby last season and even a few weeks ago Hwang Hee-chan scored the winner for Wolves against them after getting away with what looked an obvious second yellow card.

Liverpool did have every right to be aggrieved at Tottenham, yet in making their explosive statement demanding ‘escalation and resolution’ they should be getting involved in decisions from other clubs if they want to appear as though they want genuine change rather than only shouting up when calls go against them. Given the way Arteta’s response to the Liverpool call was that “mistakes happen”, he is getting little sympathy for his outburst in the north-east and may want to look at the improvements his own team can make in preventing goals before screaming about what makes him sick.

In the week where UEFA are promoting a campaign to be a referee, perhaps Liverpool and Arsenal will go above and beyond in their support to recruit new talent. After all, one of the best ways of improving standards is to widen the pool and bring in healthy competition.

While breath is held on that, Guardiola and City won’t be wasting any time worrying about refereeing standards because their focus will be on their own performance. However angry Arteta and Arsenal are about their weekend defeat, the best statements tend to come from footballers on the pitch.