Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he expected the video
assistant referee (VAR) system to rid the Premier League of controversial
refereeing decisions.
Guardiola made the
statement after his side scored a goal against Watford that was initially
flagged offside on Saturday.
City’s opening goal
by Raheem Sterling in their 3-1 win sparked controversy after referee Paul
Tierney changed his mind about the offside call following a discussion with his
assistant.
“There should be an
easy solution and next season there will be. With VAR, that will not be a
problem, it will be fairer,” Guardiola told reporters.
“The game is so
fast and so quick, even the people sat here don’t know if it is offside or
onside.
“If we have doubts
here, imagine how it is for the referee who has to make a decision in a split
second.
“I am so sorry and
I apologise to Javi (Gracia) and to Watford if the first goal is offside.”
Other Premier
League managers have backed the introduction of VAR, including Arsenal’s Unai
Emery.
The Arsenal boss
suggested that the system might prevent game-changing decisions going the wrong
way.
Guardiola said the
Premier League was lagging behind other European countries which had already
implemented VAR in their top-flight leagues.
“Hopefully next
season, like in Europe, they can accept that we install VAR in this situation
and it will be fair,” Guardiola added.
“Manchester City
voted to install VAR this season. Some other clubs did not accept it.”
The Champions
League has also implemented VAR in the knockout stages this season and UEFA has
released statements on its website to explain its use of the system.
UEFA said it was
introduced to justify decisions made by the referees in the last-16 matches so
far.
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