Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola refused to comment on the controversial VAR (Video Assistant Referee) decision that went against his side during their 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final.
The incident in question involved Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who appeared to handle the ball outside the penalty area in the 26th minute while attempting to intercept a pass intended for City striker Erling Haaland. However, following a VAR review, the decision was given in favour of Henderson.
When asked about the incident post-match, Guardiola declined to share his views, instead suggesting that such questions be directed towards the referees.
, courtesy of a 16th-minute goal from Eberechi Eze. Despite being dominated in terms of possession, Palace managed to hold firm against City’s star-studded attack.
“Don’t ask me, ask the VAR and the referee” Guardiola said post-match.
Guardiola also shared his take on Dean Henerson wasting time whenever he recieved the ball, which left a lot of City fans and players irritated, specificlly after conceeding the goal in the 16th minute.
“Listen, he defended his position, we defended our position. I understand in the last minutes, but since the first or second minutes? He’s British, you know, in the English football, you have to play,” Guardiola said.
“I’m sorry, everyone can do whatever they want. We have to score goals. We didn’t lose because Henderson was time-wasting. But it’s a question of rhythm for the players,”he added.
Henderson emerged as one of the key figures in the match. Besides the contentious moment, he made several crucial saves – most notably denying Omar Marmoush from the penalty spot in the 36th minute. The former Manchester United goalkeeper went on to reveal the overvioew of the conversation he had with Guardiola at full-time, and even his sly added-time dig at the City manager.
“I just went to shake his hand but obviously I think he was disappointed with the time wasting. I said, ‘You got the 10 minutes [of added time] that you wanted.’ No hard feelings,” Henderson said.
While Guardiola remained tight-lipped on the VAR call, his disappointment was evident during a heated altercation with Henderson at full-time. The spat had to be diffused by Palace staff members.
City controlled possession for most of the game, but the early goal and Palace’s defensive resilience proved decisive, handing Guardiola’s men a rare defeat in a domestic final.