Wolves manager Bruno Lage has been left frustrated and admits there needs to be a ‘balance’ found with VAR’s decision making within the game, as his side lost 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Lage spoke to the media after the game, as he explained his confusion at the officials’ decisions that ultimately went against his side.
Bruno Lage said: “The thing is, it’s the most important thing in football, when you come to this stadium to play against this top team – one of the best managers in history – and the first question is about the referee. We defended well and when you have the ball, we tried to understand the opponents, the spaces that they give us and try to play. That’s the main thing and in football don’t talk about the referee’s. I already talk about the decisions but I want to move on because the most important thing in football is to talk about players, teams and fans because they support us from the first minute.”
Lage also explained his frustrations at VAR’s intervention, with referee Jon Moss pointing to the spot and being instructed to stick with his initial decision after some on-field deliberations.
Bruno Lage said: “I’ve defended VAR. It’s important because it can help the referee and I already watched the image and some VAR decisions since the first day. What I saw was the ball touch – he put his arm high but the first touch was here so I don’t know how he can take a penalty from that because when you look back it was the same VAR that didn’t watch that touch that Pogba did to Ruben Dias and Man United scored that goal. It was the same VAR. we changed the opinion of the referee, our penalty against CP. In the end, we need to find a balance between these decisions. It’s more easy to see on the screen but now it is time to move on.”
