Pep Guardiola claimed the Manchester City have been treated unfairly by Premier League referees when it comes to timewasting. A bad-tempered match saw both teams fined afterwards for surrounding Taylor over decisions at different points in the match, and the yellow for Ederson is still rankling Guardiola. City’s manager described the decision as unfair when placed in the context of all the goalkeepers that escape punishment at the Etihad for what he perceives to be similar offences and used the recent criticism of Newcastle for timewasting to vent his frustration.
Pep Guardiola said: “If there is timewasting, we will have a yellow card for Ederson, don’t worry. We are the team with the least waste of time in the career and the first time we go to Arsenal away, and after 36 minutes we got a yellow card so don’t worry about wasting time. I was not paying attention to that. I’m paying more attention to what we have to do to beat them and the way they press and the problems we suffered in some moments when we play away at the beginning of the season when for many many aspects, the rhythm of the game, what happens, so I don’t know. It depends on the referee but I’m pretty sure the yellow will be for Ederson. How many thousand million games do teams come to Etihad Stadium and waste time for the keepers? Twenty seconds every time, the goal kick and long ball and long ball and long ball nothing happens. Absolutely nothing happens. And after we go there [to Arsenal], we want to be active to play and we get a yellow card. And after that we define this kind of positions. And that is why I’m far away about comments about the referees because I don’t care one second. I don’t even know before the game who the referee is that’s going to whistle, I know when I see their face I know who they are but I don’t talk with them before or after. I don’t talk with the Premier League, we are accused by them. No referees, no Premier League, no care. Newcastle.”
While Guardiola pointedly said that he was only calling treatment of the specific incident unfair rather than a general pattern, this is third game in the last 11 where the City manager has spoken about a lack of consistency in handing out yellow cards. He previously contrasted the standards applied in the Leeds and Everton matches.
