Manchester City reportedly harbor concerns regarding the application of VAR in past FA Cup finals.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has likened video assistant referee (VAR) decision-making to a “flip of a coin,” stating he has lacked trust in the system since its introduction to English football.
VAR scrutiny has intensified this week following the controversial disallowing of a stoppage-time goal for West Ham against Arsenal after a prolonged review – a decision with significant implications for both ends of the Premier League standings.
Guardiola suggests his team has been negatively impacted by refereeing decisions, citing specific instances in their FA Cup final defeats of 2024 and 2025.
“We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn’t do their jobs they should do, even the VAR,” the Spaniard stated.
City suffered a loss to Crystal Palace in the previous year’s final, during which Palace’s goalkeeper, Dean Henderson, saved a penalty.
However, Henderson potentially could have been issued a red card for handling the ball outside of the penalty area, a decision that might have altered the match’s outcome.
This followed grievances from City regarding the prior year’s defeat to Manchester United, where they felt they were denied two legitimate penalty claims.
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Nevertheless, Guardiola emphasizes the importance of players performing in such a way as to minimize VAR’s influence.
“When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR,” he elaborated.
“I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago. 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.”
Guardiola’s comments precede Wednesday’s match against Palace, a game they must win to reduce Arsenal‘s lead at the top of the league table to two points.
This would still require Arsenal to lose points in their remaining two fixtures – against relegated Burnley and Palace – for City to maintain a realistic opportunity of securing the Premier League title.
“Of course it is not in our hands in the Premier League. Always I say to the players, ‘Do it, do it, do it better’,” Guardiola added.
“The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control.”
Guardiola’s team is set to participate in their third consecutive FA Cup final when they face Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
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