Pep Guardiola calls VAR a 'flip of a coin' after FA Cup frustration

Pep Guardiola has used his pre-match press conference to renew his distrust of VAR, calling it a "flip of a coin" and saying Manchester City must be good enough to take officials out of the equation. His comments come before Crystal Palace visit the Etihad and with an FA Cup final against Chelsea still to come.

Why Guardiola has gone back at VAR

Guardiola's complaint is not just about one incident. He said, "We lost the two finals of the FA Cup because the referees didn't do their jobs they should do, even the VAR". He also pointed to West Ham's stoppage-time goal against Arsenal being ruled out after a lengthy VAR review.

The most pointed line was his blunt assessment of the technology itself. "I never trust anything since I arrived a long time ago," Guardiola said. "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."

He also said Manchester City believed they should have been awarded two penalties in last year's FA Cup final loss to Manchester United, while the Crystal Palace final included Dean Henderson's penalty save and Guardiola's view that he could also have been sent off for handling outside the area.

What comes next for Manchester City

The timing matters because Manchester City are still second in the Premier League with 74 points from 35 matches, and Guardiola said they need to beat Crystal Palace to cut Arsenal's lead to two points. Their recent league form is WDWWW, which means this is not a side stuck in crisis mode, just one where the manager is making a very public point about officiating.

City will face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, their third FA Cup final in three seasons. Guardiola has made the officiating issue part of the build-up, and the next answer has to come on the pitch against Palace first.