Manchester City's Pep Guardiola Says 'Every Weekend Is a Big Mess' with VAR

Gill Clark @@gillclarkyFeatured Columnist IIDecember 29, 2019

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at Etihad Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Sunday that "every weekend is a big mess" with VAR after watching his side beat Sheffield United 2-0 in the Premier League.

The Blades saw a goal by Lys Mousset chalked off in the first half for offside by the video assistant referee, while referee Chris Kavanagh appeared to interfere in play in the buildup to Manchester City's first goal.

Guardiola spoke to Sky Sports (h/t Goal's Josh Thomas) about the technology after the win and is hoping to see improvements next season.

"I said many times I have a huge list for VAR. Every weekend is a big mess," he said. "In other games, it was a big mess. Hopefully next season it can do better."

Goal showed just how tight the offside call was before Mousset's goal:

Goal @goal
Sheffield United's offside against Man City 🙅‍♂️ #MCISHU https://t.co/gJpJ0mcChd

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder also criticised VAR after the match. He was unhappy to see Mousset's goal disallowed and said the referee had "affected the game" before Sergio Aguero opened the scoring in the second half.

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The match official seemed to get in the way of Blades midfielder John Fleck, who then miscontrolled the ball, allowing Kevin De Bruyne to tee up Aguero to power an effort past goalkeeper Dean Henderson:

Sheffield United @SheffieldUnited
‘Yet again it’s not clear or obvious - It must be 8 or 9 goals that’s been chalked off, I thought this was meant to be the entertainment business’ The Gaffer reacts to today’s controversial 2-0 loss to Man City 🔴 https://t.co/M4dQyLeEDa

There was plenty of other VAR controversy on Sunday in the Premier League. Liverpool saw their winning goal by Sadio Mane against Wolverhampton Wanderers confirmed after a lengthy VAR check for a handball against team-mate Adam Lallana in the buildup.

David Lynch at the Evening Standard felt the check took too long:

David Lynch @LynchStandard
VAR served its purpose in giving that goal but can anyone explain what took so long? It was obvious from the very first replay that the ball hit Lallana's shoulder.

Wolves thought they equalised at Anfield on the stroke of half-time but saw Pedro Neto's effort ruled out for another marginal offside decision:

Sky Sports Premier League @SkySportsPL
Jonny was penalised for the tightest of offside calls and Neto's strike was chalked off by VAR. 📺 Watch the second half of Liverpool v Wolves on Sky Sports Premier League 📱 Follow #LIVWOL here: https://t.co/6UYwJFm2Vv 📲 Download the @SkySports app! https://t.co/gLFljxoIt0

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo refused to talk about VAR after the match:

BBC Sport @BBCSport
Nuno is NOT happy with VAR. #bbcfootball https://t.co/GKPkqcHtS3

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp urged officials to speed up VAR after his side's 1-0 win. He told Sky (h/t Malik Ouzia at the Evening Standard) that "players standing around that long waiting is not good."

VAR has come under increasing scrutiny as the season has progressed due to inconsistency, delays and different interpretations of the rules, and there is a growing sense that the technology designed to football is actually having a detrimental effect.