Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola somehow managed to speak about a refereeing decision made in the Super Cup Final after his side’s draw to Tottenham.
His side drew 2-2 with Spurs, having a last minute goal ruled out by VAR, after a ball hit Aymeric Laporte’s arm in the buildup to Gabriel Jesus’s ‘winner’.
The Spaniard, in fairness, did claim we should have had a penalty against Chelsea – which we undeniably should have when Sadio Mane’s bicycle kick hit a defender on the arm.
“Last season it was offside, this time it was handball,” Pep told the Guardian. “If it was hands it was hands, the decision is made in London so there’s nothing I can do or say about it. We could do with a little more consistency, though. It that was hands by Aymeric Laporte why was Fernando Llorente not hands last season?
“There was no penalty when the ball hit Andreas Christensen on the arm when Chelsea played Liverpool in midweek. I also thought we should have had a penalty when Érik Lamela fouled Rodrigo in the area. The VAR people must have been having a cup of coffee at that moment.”
We’re not really fans of the manner in which VAR has worked so far.
It takes away the ability for fans to unequivocally celebrate – which is the essence of football.
When Mane scored his opening goal midweek, it was hard to know if it would get chalked off or not – so that short-lived moment of ecstasy is removed.
The fact of the matter is that even with VAR, there are missed or poor decisions made week in, week out.
So if it can’t be perfect, which it never will be because it’s run by humans, what is the point?