Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has branded a VAR decision against Newcastle United as the 'worst ever', backing Pep Guardiola's furious reaction. The controversy arose during Manchester City's win, when a goal from Antoine Semenyo was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review.
Referee Chris Kavanagh overturned the goal on the advice of VAR official Stuart Attwell, ruling that Erling Haaland was offside and had interfered with Newcastle's defence. Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Neville said: 'I thought it was the worst decision I have ever seen. I think Pep was absolutely spot on. He was never getting near that goalkeeper.'
Guardiola was visibly irate after the match, questioning why VAR had not intervened in previous incidents. He pointed to two penalty claims against Newcastle earlier this season that were not reviewed. 'I would like to know why VAR in 60 minutes at Newcastle when we lost 2-1... not even a consideration,' Guardiola said.
Despite City leading 2-0 on aggregate after Rayan Cherki's goal, Guardiola remained critical. Neville added that the decision 'winds everyone up because it's the tiniest little thing'. Newcastle have not commented on the incident, but the debate over VAR's consistency continues.
