Pep Guardiola not to be charged by FA after Anfield controversy

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will not face any action by the FA regarding his reaction after their defeat against Liverpool. City lost to Liverpool 1-3 at Anfield on Sunday. The match was marred by many VAR controversies.

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The former Barcelona manager furiously argued with fourth official Mike Dean after seeing a second penalty appeal turned down during the team’s loss at Anfield. After the match, Guardiola dramatically thanked referee Michael Oliver and his assistants, inviting wide criticism.  However, the tactician later insisted that he was not being sarcastic when he shook Oliver's hand. The defeat leaves the back-to-back Premier League champions nine points behind the Reds at the fourth position.

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Guardiola was furious over VAR decisions

Guardiola was furious with certain decisions in the match, as his side were denied penalties twice for possible handballs against Trent Alexander-Arnold. The first incident led to Liverpool scoring the first goal, marked by Fabinho’s strike in the sixth minute. During the second half, a Raheem Sterling right-footed attempt appeared to hit Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold's arm in the box again, but the referee shrugged off any claim for a penalty, leaving Guardiola furious on the touchline. When asked about his full-time reaction, when he shook hands with Oliver, Guardiola said that it was not sarcastic and that he does so with officials all the time. He pointed out that he did the same at the Tottenham game at the Etihad Stadium.

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Guardiola had also asked his players to refrain from expressing their frustrations over the controversial VAR system on social media after their defeat against Liverpool, according to latest British media reports. Guardiola stated that irrespective of what happened in the match, they showed why they are champions and that he is proud of his team, more than ever. He said that he could be proud of how they played against the strongest team in Europe. When asked specifically about the handball, he told the media to ask the referees and the officials in the VAR as to why the first goal stood and not him.

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