Premier League
VAR IS A ‘BIG MESS’, SAYS PEP GUARDIOLA
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola declared the VAR video review system a “big mess” on Sunday after a weekend which saw a series of controversial decisions from the system.
VAR was introduced in the Premier League for the first time this season and there is no sign of the controversies dying down nor of fans warming to the use of the technology.
“Every weekend is a big mess. In other games, it was a big mess. Hopefully next season, it can do better,” said Guardiola after City’s 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Sunday.
It was one of several games which saw a goal overruled for the most marginal of offside calls, after VAR’s geometrical lines had been used to deliver a time-consuming verdict.
The Yorkshire side looked to have grabbed the lead through Lys Mousett in the 28th minute but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review found the slimmest of margins for offside.
Moments after the incident, both sets of supporters expressed their opposition to VAR in a loud, united chant, while United fans also adopted the ‘It’s not football any more’ anthem that has become a familiar refrain at various games.
United manager Chris Wilder noted Norwich City forward Teemu Pukki had a similar goal ruled out for a fractional offside decision in their 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Saturday and said there had been “eight or nine” incidents over the weekend.
“There’s no conclusivie evidence, blurred lines and angles. There needs to be a more clear way of defining it,” he said.
Asked about the City fans joining in with the visitors in expressing strong opposition to VAR, Wilder said he was not surprised.
“Up and down the country, all the people at Norwich, a four-letter word about VAR, these are proper football people,” he said.
Asked whether the system needed to be reformed or fully scrapped, Wilder said: “Its not my decision, it has to improve. Yet again, it’s the first question, eight or nine goals knocked off.
“Where there’s so much debate on every goal, it will be analysed yet again. I just don’t think it’s been refined enough to make a difference.”
He was also upset about City’s first goal where referee Chris Kavanagh appeared to obstruct United defenders before Kevin De Bruyne found Sergio Aguero for the opener.
“I’ve been to see the referee and he has been honest about it. We make mistakes and I believe he made one too,” said Wilder.
“We talk about the new rule where if the referee touches the ball then he has to blow up. So surely if he is in the way and hinders us, then he makes a sensible decision.
“If he made the sensible decision then I don’t think anyone in the ground would have said anything about it.”
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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