NOBODY LISTENS!

Pep urges chiefs to play ball with stars

PEP GUARDIOLA has accused football authorities of ignoring players and managers after airing his grievances about the Carabao Cup ball.

The Manchester City boss claimed it was “impossible” to score with the ball provided for Tuesday’s penalty shoot-out victory over Wolves.

But he says he has no intention of chasing up league officials to demand a better ball for City’s quarter-final away to Leicester, claiming there is no point.

Asked if he would contact the EFL, Guardiola said: “No, no, no, because they never ask me, or any managers or players, about anything in football today. Not here. Not anywhere.

“They decide the competition. They decide which ball they are going to play with. They decide the time, the schedule.

“They say ‘go right’, we go right. They say ‘go left’, we go left. They say ‘that ball’, we use that ball.”

The EFL defended its use of the ball, made by Mitre, by saying that it meets FIFA’s standards.

Guardiola, though, said he made ® his criticisms after listening to his players, arguing they are better placed to judge than officials.

“I believe more in my players than in the FIFA standards,” he said. “Much, much more, because I see them every day.

“I see how the ball runs. Any journalist can’t judge that because they didn’t touch (the ball) once.

Answer

“The media said I was wrong. They are not players. They do not know how the ball is. It’s all about the players. Nothing else.

“But we are going to play with that ball at Leicester, so there are no complaints about that. I give an answer. I don’t give excuses.

“We are going to play with that ball in that competition. In another competition, we play with another one. Nobody asks us. FIFA, UEFA.

“We are just here to do what we have to do. We go and we try to play as well as possible. It is as simple as that.”

Guardiola will not have to worry about the Mitre ball today when his team visit West Brom in the Premier League, which uses balls supplied by Nike.

But he believes there is a wider problem in the game, claiming the authorities do not give enough thought to players and managers when making big decisions.

He said: “They decide absolutely everything in football.

“They should consult the players, especially the players. The players and the managers don’t count for anything today in football.”