Manchester City’s Rúben Dias expressed his frustration over the referee’s ruling that allowed Newcastle’s winning goal in their match on Saturday, stating that the inconsistency in officiating “doesn’t make sense.”
Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes scored twice, including a controversial second goal that followed a corner where he seemed to push goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. After the goal, Donnarumma rushed to speak with the referee, yet the goal was upheld after a VAR review.
“Out of all the decisions, it’s only the second goal that needs clarification,” Dias told Sky Sports following the match. “Sometimes these situations are allowed, other times they aren’t. What are the rules? What can we actually do about it?”
“For that second goal, Gigio is in position but gets pushed out with no consequences. I didn’t even notice it while playing, but I saw the replay. It’s peculiar how we’re so strict on certain contact but let things like this slide. If that’s the rule, fine, but we should be able to do the same.”
“In the past, that would have been considered a foul. Now, apparently, it’s acceptable. People might say I’m just making excuses, but the reality is Newcastle played better and deserved the win. They created more opportunities than we did.”
“Ultimately, all I’m asking for is a clear rule.”
When asked about the incident, Man City manager Pep Guardiola referred to a previous match where a similar situation occurred involving Donnarumma at a corner, leading to a Bournemouth goal.
“If he complained, it’s because something wrong happened,” Guardiola remarked. “It happened before against Bournemouth. It’s just the way it is.”
With this loss, Manchester City missed the chance to reduce Arsenal‘s lead in the Premier League to just one point, as Arsenal are set to face their rivals Tottenham on Sunday.