MANCHESTER — Pep Guardiola has delivered a stinging critique of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, likening the technology's decision-making process to the "flip of a coin" and admitting he has harbored a deep-seated distrust of the officiating tool since its inception in English football.
The Manchester City manager’s comments come at a flashpoint for the Premier League, as the technology faces a fresh wave of scrutiny following a controversial midweek incident involving Arsenal and West Ham. A stoppage-time goal for the Hammers was chalked off after an agonizingly long review, a decision that significantly bolstered Arsenal’s position at the summit of the table while leaving their London rivals aggrieved. For Guardiola, the incident was merely the latest chapter in a saga of inconsistency that he believes has cost his side dearly in recent seasons.
The Spaniard was particularly pointed when reflecting on Manchester City’s recent heartbreak in domestic cup competitions. Despite their sustained dominance in the league, City have suffered back-to-back defeats in the FA Cup final, and Guardiola laid the blame squarely at the feet of the officials and the technology supposed to assist them.
"We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn't do their jobs they should do, even the VAR," Guardiola told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. The sense of injustice remains palpable for the City boss, who pointed to specific moments in the 2024 and 2025 showpieces at Wembley as evidence of a system that is failing the sport.
In last year’s final, City fell to a resurgent Crystal Palace side. While Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson earned plaudits for a heroic penalty save that secured the trophy for the Eagles, Guardiola remains convinced that the England international should have been dismissed much earlier in the match. The City bench was incandescent during the game, arguing that Henderson had handled the ball outside of his penalty area—a red-card offense that went unpunished despite the availability of video reviews. Guardiola believes that such a dismissal would have fundamentally altered the complexion of the game and likely led to a different outcome.
This frustration followed a similarly bitter experience in the 2024 final against local rivals Manchester United. In that encounter, City felt they were denied two clear penalties. On both occasions, the VAR officials at Stockley Park opted not to intervene, leaving Guardiola to conclude that the system is more about luck than precision.
"I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago," Guardiola admitted, reflecting on his decade-long tenure in England. "Always I learned you have to do it better, do it better, be in a position to do it better because you blame yourself with what you have to do, because VAR is a flip of a coin."
Despite his obvious disdain for the current officiating standards, Guardiola was quick to pivot back to his core philosophy of self-reliance. In his view, the only way to mitigate the "randomness" of VAR is for his players to perform at a level that renders officiating errors irrelevant. He insisted that he tells his squad to take the technology out of the equation by being so dominant that a single missed penalty or a dubious offside call cannot dictate the result.
"When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR," he continued. "The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control."
The timing of Guardiola's outburst is significant. Manchester City are currently embroiled in a high-stakes pursuit of Arsenal, who hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League. City face Crystal Palace on Wednesday in a match they must win to narrow that gap to two points and keep the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side. However, even a victory on Wednesday would not put the title back in City's hands. They remain reliant on Arsenal dropping points in their final two fixtures against relegated Burnley and a Palace side that has proven to be a thorn in the side of the league's elite.
"Of course it is not in our hands in the Premier League," Guardiola conceded. "Always I say to the players, 'Do it, do it, do it better.' That is the only way."
The pressure on Guardiola's squad is immense, as they are essentially fighting on two fronts to salvage their season. Beyond the Premier League title race, City are preparing for their third consecutive FA Cup final appearance. They are set to meet Chelsea at Wembley this Saturday, a match that offers a chance for redemption after the disappointments of the previous two years.
Guardiola’s comments reflect a growing sentiment among Premier League managers and supporters who feel that the soul of the game is being eroded by lengthy delays and subjective interpretations of what was intended to be an objective tool. By characterizing VAR as a "coin toss," the City manager has highlighted the fundamental lack of confidence in the system’s ability to provide the "clear and obvious" corrections it was designed for.
As City head into a season-defining week, the shadow of officiating continues to loom large. Whether it is at Selhurst Park on Wednesday or Wembley on Saturday, Guardiola will be hoping his players can heed his advice and produce performances so clinical that they don't have to rely on the luck of a flip of the coin. For a manager who prides himself on meticulous control and tactical perfection, the unpredictable nature of VAR remains his greatest, and perhaps most frustrating, adversary.
