Guardiola says officials were ‘correct’ to rule out Bellingham’s goal
Pep Guardiola backed the officials after Borussia Dortmund had a goal controversially disallowed in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.
EnglandinternationalJude Bellingham was denied in the first half of the German side’s 2-1defeatattheEtihadStadium when Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan ruled he had fouled Ederson.Replayssuggestedthe decision was harsh.
Dortmund did eventually score to cancel out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener through MarcoReussixminutesfromtime, but Phil Foden gave City the edge with a last-gasp winner.
Asked about the incident, City manager Guardiola initially said: “Listen, it is better nottotalkaboutrefereesinthe Champions League.
“I’mnotgoingtospeaknow. We have a huge list about this kind of situation in this competition so it’s better to make no comment. The ref made his decision and that’s all.”
Guardiola was willing to speakalittlebitmoreaboutthe officials later, however, when asked about the sight of one of the assistant referees asking Dortmund forward Erling Haalandforhisautographafter the game.
There was further controversy in the match when City were awarded a penalty, but Hategan reversed his decision after viewing the pitchside monitor. He said: “I didn’t see it but maybe he’s a fan of Haaland and he’s here, so why not?
“The referees were brilliant. The game was not a problem. It was a penalty but the people saw the VAR and it was not a penalty.
“After the Bellingham action the leg is higher than expected, so the referee and linesmen were correct, perfect. They did a good job. That’s all. Nothing happened.”
Cityhavebeenknockedout in the quarter-finals for the past three seasons. Guardiola insistedCitywillnotsitbackas theyattempttogoonebetterin the second leg next week.
He said: “We are going to go there to win the game. We will try to get the result we need, but of course the victory is the best result. We are going to
Dortmund, absolutely, not to defend.”
Dortmund’s interim coach Edin Terzic admitted his side were frustrated by the decision to disallow Bellingham’s goal but refused to dwell on it.
He said: “For me it is not a foul but he blew the whistle. If he would let the ball in, he can go to the screen, have a check and make a decision. This is something that annoyed us but this is a game of mistakes.”