Pep Guardiola made reference to Mikel Arteta’s post-Newcastle United rant in his interview after Manchester City’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Manchester City have been the beneficiaries of plenty of poor refereeing decisions in their favour over the last few years, but it’s hard to argue they weren’t hard done by in the latter stages of Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur.

With the scores level and Jack Grealish already on the scoresheet, the winger found himself in on goal again with just minutes to go.

Yet referee Simon Hooper inexplicably pulled the game back for a Manchester City free-kick, despite initially playing advantage for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Fans were left bewildered, with the assumption that Hooper must have believed either that Grealish was offside or that the ball was going to a Spurs player. He wasn’t, and it wasn’t.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola was asked about the decision, and he looked to deflect the question with a quip about Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta – before answering the question anyway.

“Next question. I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment,” Guardiola said.

“It’s hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he’s already said play on. After the pass, the whistle, I do not understand.”

Guardiola is clearly referencing Arteta’s comments following Arsenal’s match against Newcastle United, when the manager called the officiating “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”.

The FA charged Arteta for his comments, but he’s yet to receive punishment, one month on. Perhaps they’re still trying to figure out what exactly Arteta said that wasn’t true.