Guardiola raises VAR concerns following Newcastle semi-final victory | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed profound frustration over VAR inconsistencies, despite his side securing a 2-0 victory against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at St James’ Park.

The win was overshadowed by a controversial disallowed goal, which reignited the debate surrounding video assistant referee decisions.

City established their lead at St James’ Park, with Antoine Semenyo scoring his second goal in as many games, followed by Rayan Cherki sealing the win late on.

However, the visitors saw a second Semenyo goal controversially chalked off in the second half. The strike, which came from a corner, was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review deemed Erling Haaland to be offside and impeding defender Malick Thiaw.

Guardiola did not hold back his criticism post-match, drawing comparisons to previous incidents during City’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at the same venue in November. When questioned about receiving an explanation for the decision, Guardiola retorted: "It’s a good question. I say now I’d like to know why VAR in the 60th minute of the Premier League game against Newcastle – that we lost 2-1 – it was 0-0 and it was a penalty for (Fabian) Schar on Phil Foden, not even (giving it any) consideration."

He continued, highlighting another unaddressed incident: "In the 20th minute there is an unbelievable penalty for the shot for Jeremy Doku off the hand, and not even VAR."

The City boss expressed bewilderment at the disparity in VAR application. "Today, four people were not able to decide because the line was, I don’t know, but the second goal Newcastle scored the line was perfect," he said, adding, "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, it is a red card after 30 or 40 minutes for (Dean) Henderson. OK, it’s fine, but the fact we didn’t say… I’m pretty sure Howard Webb (technical director for Professional Game Match Officials) is going to call me tomorrow to take explanations for that."

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Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma complains to the referee during November’s Premier League match at St James’ Park (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)

Guardiola emphasised that his frustration stemmed from a broader issue of consistency, not just results. "When you play semi-finals or finals and win 0-1, 0-0, 0-2, 1-1, because after 0-1 with five minutes they can equalise and after that it’s more difficult. I’m zero suspicious. In 10 years when we lost semi-finals in big competitions, in the league here, I didn’t say anything. On the touchline sometimes. But come on, in the same stadium, what happened? VAR’s intervened, ‘take a look, take a look’ – in the 60th minute, 20th minute, take a look at the two penalties."

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(REUTERS)

He concluded his impassioned critique by stating: "To come here in the Premier League and win, 0-1 or 0-2 advantage is a big difference for us. I don’t give any credit to Newcastle. I can say they won deservedly the game in the Premier League but why didn’t (VAR) intervene in these two (incidents)? Today was more than six minutes (reviewing) and we’re not even able to discuss it with the referee. But they will call me."

Meanwhile, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe acknowledged the significant challenge awaiting his team in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium in February. "I think it is probably our biggest challenge, our biggest test of everything really, our belief levels, our ability, our ability to score goals and defend," he stated. "We’re going to have to defend well in that game, otherwise we’ve got no chance." Howe indicated that the focus for now would be on their upcoming fixtures. "I think that’s for another day. I think the beauty of the distance between the two legs means you can just put it away and forget about it. We’ve got so many big games to come before the second leg."