LONDON: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged his players to perform better if they want to avoid controversy involving VAR in matches.
Guardiola believes City have fallen prey to controversial decisions before and is still disappointed with some of the decisions made in the FA Cup final defeats in 2024 and 2025.
VAR once again stole the spotlight after West Ham United were denied a late equaliser against Arsenal last Sunday after a lengthy review.
The 1-0 victory allowed Arsenal to remain five points ahead of City in the race for the Premier League title.
But Guardiola stressed that the players themselves need to ensure that refereeing decisions are no longer a major factor.
“We lost two FA Cup finals because the referees didn’t do their job properly, including VAR.
“When that happens, it means we have to get better ourselves, not blame the referee or VAR,” Guardiola said.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager said he has learned not to rely too much on luck or decisions beyond his control.
“You have to keep getting better because VAR is like a coin toss sometimes.
“When you lose focus, you are in a dangerous situation,” he said.
City lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the FA Cup final two years ago, with Guardiola believing his side should have been awarded two penalties following challenges to Erling Haaland by Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo.
Controversy also arose when City were stunned by Crystal Palace in last season’s final when Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson was not shown a red card despite being found to have cleared the ball outside the penalty area.
However, Guardiola stressed that his team’s focus is now only on the match against Palace early tomorrow morning.
A win would reduce Arsenal’s gap at the top of the league to two points.