Pep Guardiola has admitted he has never fully trusted refereeing decisions during his tenure at Manchester City, branding VAR calls a 'flip of a coin'. City must beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday to keep pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Guardiola's stance on officials
Guardiola insisted City cannot rely on others for help after West Ham's controversial late disallowed goal in their weekend defeat to Arsenal. His view of officiating has been shaped by VAR's introduction seven years ago, but he told his players they cannot blame anyone else if they fail to achieve their goals this season.
'We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn't do their jobs they should do, even the VAR,' Guardiola said. 'When this happens it is because we have to do better, not (blame) 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 (VAR) is a flip of a coin.'
'VAR was not installed last weekend. It has been here for many years, we adapt, and everybody knows it.'
FA Cup final grievances
The two FA Cup incidents Guardiola referenced came in the 2024 and 2025 finals. City were furious that Dean Henderson wasn't sent off for handball in last year's defeat to Crystal Palace, and argue that Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo fouled Erling Haaland in the Manchester United box the season before.
Last year's cup final referee, Stuart Atwell, will officiate the Palace fixture at the Etihad as City aim to close within two points of Arsenal.
Team rotation and integrity
Guardiola expects a much-changed Palace side, with Oliver Glasner focused on their Conference League final with Rayo Vallecano. City's boss may rotate against Chelsea and Bournemouth. Glasner will also rotate for Arsenal on the final day and dismissed criticism over competition integrity as 'nonsense'.
Guardiola backs that stance and wants no interference from authorities. 'Leave the managers to do what they have to do. The less the Premier League is involved in all the decisions, will be better for all of us. So, leave it all over, so the managers do what they have to do. No problem.'
'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 Palace and we will see what happens to the next games.'
'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.'
