Pep Guardiola's Call to Remove VAR from Manchester City's Destiny

Pep Guardiola has had enough of living on VAR’s roulette wheel. His solution is blunt: stop giving technology a say in Manchester City’s destiny.

As the Premier League digests another weekend dominated by replays, lines and delays – this time a stoppage-time flashpoint in Arsenal’s nervy win over West Ham – Guardiola’s mind drifts back to Wembley. Twice.

Wembley scars that won’t fade

City’s manager still carries a visible edge when he talks about the FA Cup finals of 2024 and 2025, both lost, both in his eyes warped by officiating.

“We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn’t do their jobs they should do, even the VAR,” he said. The words come out hard. The frustration is not new.

Two years ago, City were stunned 2-1 by Manchester United at Wembley. On the scoreboard, a derby defeat. In Guardiola’s memory, a game with two major flashpoints involving Erling Haaland.

He felt City should have had penalties for separate challenges on the Norwegian by Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo. VAR stayed silent. So did the referee’s whistle. United walked away with the trophy; City walked away fuming.

Last season brought another jolt under the arch, this time against Crystal Palace. A shock defeat, a goalkeeper in inspired form, and a moment that still rankles.

Dean Henderson emerged as one of Palace’s heroes, saving a penalty and repelling waves of pressure. But the narrative might have shifted dramatically had he been punished for handling outside his area. He stayed on. Palace survived. City swallowed another bitter cup final defeat.

Those calls still sting. They also shape Guardiola’s stance on what comes next.

‘A flip of a coin’

For all the anger, Guardiola refuses to build a season on grievance. He leans into something harsher: responsibility.

“When this happens it is because we have to do better, not the referees or VAR,” he said. “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.”

That line matters. To Guardiola, VAR is not a safety net. It is chaos dressed up as precision. A system that can tilt a season either way with the slightest interpretation.

So he wants City to remove it from the equation. Not by lobbying. By playing.

Arsenal, West Ham and a title race on edge

The latest controversy, involving Arsenal and West Ham, only sharpened the debate.

Relegation-threatened West Ham thought they had snatched a stoppage-time equaliser against the title chasers. A long VAR delay followed. The goal did not stand. The ramifications stretch from the top of the table to the bottom.

For Guardiola, this is exactly the kind of storm he wants his players to avoid. Not by pretending it doesn’t exist, but by refusing to leave their fate to a replay screen.

“You have to do better and better for yourself, and that is focusing on Crystal Palace for us,” he said.

City trail Arsenal and know the margins are now razor-thin. Every decision, every deflection, every delay feels amplified. Guardiola’s answer is to narrow his players’ world.

“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’,” he added. “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.”

Palace return to the scene

That brings the story back to Crystal Palace, and back to Wembley’s ghosts.

City host the Eagles on Wednesday, chasing a win that would slice Arsenal’s lead at the top to two points. The stakes are clear. So is Guardiola’s message: no excuses, no distractions, no room for debate.

The memory of Henderson’s handling incident and Palace’s upset win lingers, but Guardiola has no interest in relitigating it. He wants a performance that makes any future argument about referees feel irrelevant.

Win clearly. Play with authority. Leave nothing to the flip of a coin.

In a title race this tight, City cannot control VAR. They can control everything else.