Pep Guardiola has offered up a supposed “apology” for his criticism of debutant referee Farai Hallam, but the apology was half-hearted at best.
Pep Guardiola went on a rant about referees following Manchester City’s win over Wolves at the weekend, having also confronted first-time Premier League referee Farai Hallam on the pitch in the immediate aftermath of the game.
The rant didn’t go down too well in the media, particularly as many believed Hallam had made the correct call in the match’s key incident.
The ref refused to give a penalty to Manchester City after the ball struck the arm of Wolves’ Yerson Mosquera, but the close proximity of the kick and the natural position of the arm made it difficult to argue a penalty should have been awarded.
Following the backlash to his comments, Guardiola apologised in his press conference on Tuesday. But his apology was half-hearted, and it was followed by another rant about the officials.
“I’m so sorry. If he feels offended, I’m so sorry,” Guardiola said. “If he is offended then I am so sorry. I know it’s not easy on debut. And it’s happened. Everyone is so sensitive, I know that.
“With their statements, they [referees] defend each other — completely understandable. They have to do that. But at the same time I have to defend my club. How many times did I criticise the referees last season, which was the worst season in ten years? How many times? It never happened.
“I was incredibly respectful in my nine or ten years with the referees, in defeats and everything, never commenting on absolutely anything. When I do, I have arguments to do it and that’s the only reason why, but I know they defend each other and pundits and everyone defends them.”
Alan Shearer had argued on Match of the Day that Hallam made the right call with the penalty, disagreeing with Guardiola’s complaints.
“I don’t agree with Pep, I don’t think that is handball,” Alan Shearer told Match of the Day. “The defender is in a natural position, Mosquera. How is he meant to balance himself? And he’s only a yard away, Marmoush.
“Then you’ve got two experienced referees in VAR who have said to him ‘we think you’ve made a clear error there, you need to go and check it on the monitor’.
“And to be fair to him, I think he gets the right call. He says ‘no, I don’t agree with you guys’. Despite his inexperience, despite it being his first game, he’s brave enough to say ‘no, I’m making a different call, and I’m sticking with my decision and I’m not moving’.
“He got that decision right, and he got several others right as well.”