I DON’T TRUST OUR REFEREES

Guardiola claims bungling officials cost City victory in two Cup finals

PEP GUARDIOLA claims to have not fully trusted any refereeing decisions during his tenure at Manchester City, branding VAR calls a ‘flip of a coin’.

City must beat Crystal Palace tonight to keep up the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

And their manager insisted they cannot rely on others for help, after West Ham saw a late equaliser controversially disallowed following a VAR check during last Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Mikel Arteta’s leaders.

Guardiola’s view of the country’s officiating is further shaped by the introduction of VAR in the top flight seven years ago — but he told his players they cannot blame anybody else if they do not 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,’ he 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.

‘I learned you have to 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.’ The two FA Cup incidents Guardiola chose to reference unprompted came in the 2024 and 2025 finals, which City lost. City were furious Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson didn’t see red last year, and they argued Manchester United duo Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo were both guilty of fouls on Erling Haaland inside the Red Devils’ penalty area the season before. Last year’s Cup final referee, Stuart Atwell, is taking charge of tonight’s game at the Etihad Stadium as City attempt to narrow the gap to Arsenal to two points.

Guardiola expects a much-changed Palace team, with boss Oliver Glasner clear all eyes are on their Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on May 27. City’s boss has raised the prospect of rotating his own team ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday and Tuesday’s trip to Bournemouth in the league. Glasner will ring the changes for Palace’s game against Arsenal in their Premier League finale on May 24 and said any criticism that may come his way over the integrity of the competition is ‘nonsense’. Guardiola backs that stance and doesn’t want the authorities to interfere. ‘Leave the managers to do what they have to do,’ he added. ‘The less the Premier League is involved in all the decisions, the better it will be for all of us.

‘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. ‘When you lose focus, you are in a dangerous situation. The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control.’ Palace boss Glasner hit back at suggestions he could undermine the integrity of the title race by fielding weakened sides against City tonight and Arsenal a week on Sunday. ‘After your question I had a look at my payslip to see if we get some money from Arsenal or City,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t find it. ‘I’m responsible for Crystal Palace, not for Arsenal and for City. I just got the confirmation. ‘We always think what is best for us. This is my responsibility. Our influence on the title race will definitely be less than VAR.’ He added: ‘With these amount of games, playing every three days, we always rotated.

‘It’s just necessary in such a long season. In the last league game, against Everton, in every physical data in the Premier League we were top three. ‘Just playing three days after (the Conference League semi-final second leg against) Shakhtar Donetsk with more or less the same team.’

TV: Manchester City v Crystal Palace, 8pm, LIVE on Sky Sports Main Event.