‘I will say it now’ - Pep Guardiola explodes in 161-word Newcastle United rant
Manchester City brushed Newcastle United aside 2-0 at St James’ Park in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Pep Guardiola was left raging after Antoine Semenyo had a goal disallowed at St James’ Park last night.
And in a furious post-match rant, the Spaniard dug up old ground by mentioning an incident during the Premier League clash two months ago. In November, Manchester City felt as though they were denied a first-half penalty when Fabian Schar tackled Phil Foden.
Fast forward to last night and, with the scoreline at 0-1, Semenyo believed he had doubled City’s advantage from a corner. However, following a five-minute-long VAR check, Erling Haaland was judged to have been offside while obstructing Nick Pope.
Pep Guardiola rant
Man City ultimately won 2-0 as Rayan Cherki nestled home a 99th-minute clincher but that did not negate Guardiola’s fury at the full-time whistle. Speaking to reporters, the 54-year-old also flamed former tensions by highlighting previous decisions at St James’ Park.
"I will say it now,” Guardiola began. “I would like to know why VAR, at 60 minutes in the Premier League game at Newcastle, when we lost 2-1, it was 0-0, and it was an insane penalty on Schar for Phil Foden and not even a consideration.
“And at 20 minutes, there is an unbelievable penalty from a shot from Jeremy Doku that hit Thiaw's hand, and not even VAR. Today, four people were not able to decide because the line was I don't know, but the second goal that Newcastle scored, the line was perfect.
"I'm not suspicious of that in 10 years. I didn't say anything when we lost 2-1 here. I didn't say anything in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace when it was a red card after 30 minutes for Dean Henderson.
“Did I say anything? No. It's ok. It's fine. I'm pretty sure Howard Webb is going to come in tomorrow to give an explanation of that."
Eddie Howe on VAR decision
Eddie Howe was also frustrated at how long the VAR call took despite the decision favouring Newcastle United. He said post-match: “I’ve got no view of it really. I’ve not seen it again so I can’t give you an opinion. I think it’s too long, especially on a cold night, not just for the players but for the supporters of both clubs.
“So I don’t know why that took so long, I’ve got no idea, but for me it’s too long. But the right decision hopefully reached, then okay, but can we speed that up?”