YOU’RE TALKING A LOT OF BALLS, PEP
Pep Guardiola and Yaya Toure have come under fire for claiming the balls used in the Carabao Cup are too light and not fit for purpose.
Manchester City boss Guardiola said the Mitre balls are ‘unacceptable for a high-level competition’ after seeing his multi-million-pound stars taken to penalties by Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night. Midfielder Toure branded the ball ‘rubbish’ after City’s fourth-round victory.
But the eFl, who use the £115 ball in all their competitions, hit back yesterday, saying the ball meets all necessary requirements — and as our graphic below shows, the Mitre ball does weigh exactly the same as the premier league’s Nike match ball.
The eFl, who say they are keen to speak to Guardiola before next month’s quarter-finals, yesterday posted a video on Twitter of Toure’s long-range goal in City’s 2014 league Cup final win over Sunderland. The caption read: ‘pure class from Yaya Toure with a Mitre Sports football. Top drawer, not “rubbish”.’
The manufacturers also issued a statement pointing out all Carabao Cup teams were ‘sent balls well ahead of the tournament for training’.
City’s players trained with them on Monday but Guardiola said it was ‘impossible to score with a ball like that’ because it is ‘too light and it moves all over the place’.
‘it is not a serious ball for a serious competition,’ he added. ‘it’s marketing, money, oK. But it’s not acceptable. No weight, nothing. one day or two days, but the ball is bad for one year or two years. all the players complain.’
Toure, 34, confirmed that City players think it is too light compared to the Nike version used in the premier league.
‘i don’t like it, to be honest,’ said Toure. ‘They can do better than that. it’s too light. even in my country (ivory Coast), they can’t use those kinds of balls. i think they have to be better than that. it’s everything. Shooting, the ball is very light. When you touch it, it’s floating. it’s rubbish. and in this weather, it’s difficult.’
Toure said it is worse than the much-maligned adidas Jabulani, used for the 2010 World Cup in South africa. ‘a lot of players were complaining. We just want to enjoy it. it’s difficult to play with these kind of balls.’
The match at the etihad ended goalless after Claudio Bravo made three one-on-one saves and City’s reserve keeper was also the hero in the shoot-out as he kept out two penalties. Yet even the goalkeeper, 34, was unimpressed with the ball he managed to keep out of the net.
‘i don’t think anybody likes it,’ said Bravo. ‘it’s like a beach volleyball. But it is what it is and we have to adapt to that.’
The eFl said in a statement: ‘The Mitre ball used in this season’s Carabao Cup is of the same technical specification as the balls used in the Sky Bet eFl and Checkatrade Trophy, all of which are tested in accordance with the FiFa Quality programme and meet the FiFa Quality pro standard.
‘The entertainment provided across (Tuesday’s) ties would suggest that the ball used is not having a negative impact.’
Mitre said: ‘We’re passionate about the game and obsessed about everything related to ball technology. We totally appreciate all balls feel different and that’s why we made sure competing teams were sent balls well ahead of the tournament for training.’