Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has called for the implementation of VAR in the UEFA Champions League following the shocking penalty awarded to Raheem Sterling in the 6-0 rout of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Raheem Sterling kicked the ground before tumbling over with Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai awarding a penalty to Manchester City. The game was still in Donetsk’s hands as they were only 1-0 down but the decision seemed to affect the Ukrainian side as they went on to concede four goals.
Guardiola called for VAR to be brought into the Champions League to assist referees, “We realised it was not a penalty. He wanted to make a chip and touched the grass. We don’t like to score goals in that situation but he didn’t realise.”
The former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager noted that VAR helps in reducing referee errors, “You know VAR and what it is – referees must be helped because they don’t want to make mistakes. They want to make a good performance but the game is quick and players are more skilled. It takes three or four seconds to make a decision – penalty or no penalty.”
