Pep Guardiola's Distrust of VAR in Title Race

Pep Guardiola has never hidden his distrust of VAR. This week, with the title race crackling and the margins shrinking, he stripped away any remaining diplomacy.

“I never trust anything since they (VAR) arrived a long time ago,” he said. No softening. No caveats. Just a blunt assessment from a manager who has seen too much go against him when the game is handed over to the booth.

Arsenal’s break, City’s response

The latest flashpoint did not even involve Manchester City. It came at the London Stadium, where Arsenal clung to a 1-0 lead over West Ham and survived a stoppage-time equaliser from Callum Wilson. The Hammers thought they had their moment. Then the screen lit up.

After a long delay, VAR official Darren England sent referee Chris Kavanagh to the pitchside monitor. The verdict: Pablo Felipe had fouled David Raya in the build-up. Goal disallowed. Arsenal’s title push stayed intact, their lead at the top stretched to five points.

City still have a game in hand, but the optics were clear. Arsenal got the call; City watched on.

Guardiola, though, refused to frame the race around technology or officiating. He has seen where that road leads.

“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,” he said, urging his players to shut out the noise from Stockley Park and look inward instead.

Scars from Wembley

His scepticism is not theoretical. It is rooted in Wembley, in back-to-back FA Cup finals that still grate.

“We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn’t do their jobs they should do, even the VAR,” Guardiola insisted. That is as close to an open indictment as you will hear from him.

In 2024, with City chasing the domestic double, Erling Haaland went down under a challenge from Lisandro Martinez. No penalty. Later in the same 2-1 defeat to Manchester United, Guardiola watched his main striker wrestled by Kobbie Mainoo at a corner. Again, nothing given. VAR stayed silent.

The following year brought more frustration. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson appeared to handle the ball outside his area in the FA Cup final. No red card. No free-kick. No intervention from the officials in the booth.

These are the moments that have hardened Guardiola’s stance. In his eyes, VAR has not just failed to correct errors; it has compounded them on the biggest stages.

“One is a job for the institutions that rule the competition,” he said pointedly, drawing a firm line between what he can control and what he cannot.

Self-reliance in a tight race

So he returns to his core doctrine: control the controllables. Forget the rest.

“Always when I said to the players when I arrived here and Bayern Munich and Barcelona – do it, do it, do it better,” he explained, leaning on a mantra that has followed him through three giants of European football.

Lose focus, he warns, and the season can tilt in an instant.

“I always learned that when you lose the focus, you are in a dangerous situation. The only thing we can do is do it better, that is only in your control. You have to do better and better for yourself, and that is focusing on Crystal Palace for us.”

That is the immediate task: a trip to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. No time to brood over Arsenal’s reprieve or old grievances at Wembley. Drop points at Selhurst Park and the debate over VAR becomes irrelevant.

After that, City turn back to the FA Cup and another final, this time against Chelsea. Another shot at a trophy. Another date with the system he does not trust.

Guardiola cannot rewrite the laws or choose the officials. He cannot reach into the VAR room when the screen freezes and the angles roll. What he can do is drive his players to such a level that no decision, no review, no “flip of a coin” defines their season.

In a title race this tight, that belief will be tested again. And probably sooner than he would like.