FIFA has officially announced the dismissal of the officials and referees from the recent Manchester City vs Newscastle United match. This decision comes after the referee declared Antoine Semenyo Goal Offside after VAR Check
Pep Guardiola unleashed a blistering attack on VAR and demanded answers from PGMOL chief Howard Webb after Manchester City took a commanding 2-0 lead in their League Cup semi-final at Newcastle United.
The match was marred by a controversial six-minute VAR delay that saw Antoine Semenyo’s goal disallowed. VAR official Stuart Attwell eventually asked referee Chris Kavanagh to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, where he decided that Erling Haaland was offside and interfering with play when Semenyo tucked away a corner.
The extended delay was caused by a technical failure of the semi-automated offside system at the ground, forcing Attwell to manually draw the lines himself to determine whether Haaland was in an offside position.
The decision infuriated Guardiola, who has grown increasingly frustrated with VAR calls against City at St James’ Park. During their November visit, both Phil Foden and Jérémy Doku were denied what appeared to be clear penalties, while Harvey Barnes scored the winner following another lengthy VAR review. The City manager also hasn’t forgotten last season’s FA Cup final, when he felt Dean Henderson escaped a red card for handball.
When asked about the disallowed goal, Guardiola didn’t hold back. He highlighted the glaring inconsistencies, pointing out how Fabian Schär’s challenge on Foden in November wasn’t even considered for a penalty, nor was a potential spot-kick when Doku had a shot blocked. He found it absurd that four officials couldn’t make a decision because the offside margins were so tight, yet the technology worked perfectly for Newcastle’s second goal in that previous match.
While insisting he’d remained quiet through a decade of questionable decisions at City, including that November defeat and the Cup final controversy, Guardiola made it clear he now expects Webb to publicly address these issues.
Despite the drama, City secured a comfortable advantage heading into the February 4 second leg. Semenyo had opened the scoring—marking his second goal in just four days since his £62.5 million move from Bournemouth—before Rayan Cherki sealed the win with a stoppage-time strike.
The heart of the controversy lay in whether Haaland, who was wrestling with Malick Thiaw as Tijjani Reijnders’ corner came in, was actively interfering with play. Positioned between goalkeeper Nick Pope and defender Thiaw, Haaland was deemed offside because Pope had stepped forward, making him the last man. The question was whether his presence affected Thiaw’s ability to defend Semenyo’s finish.
After examining numerous replays, Attwell directed Kavanagh to the monitor. Only after this marathon six-minute interruption did officials rule that Haaland had impeded Thiaw, wiping the goal off the board.
The delay became so lengthy that players began warming up while waiting. Meanwhile, Guardiola and substitute Gianluigi Donnarumma became embroiled in heated arguments with Newcastle’s coaching staff.
City captain Bernardo Silva shared his manager’s frustration, noting the pattern of controversial decisions against them at this venue, though he was relieved to come away with a victory. Semenyo, clearly unhappy, could be seen telling television cameras at the final whistle that his goal should have stood.
Guardiola believes the incident actually fired up his players and inspired their dominant second-half performance. He praised the team’s fighting spirit, even highlighting how Rayan Aït-Nouri, who had only returned from the Africa Cup of Nations the day before, embodied the determined mentality he sensed throughout the squad.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe kept his comments brief, simply stating the delay was far too long, especially on such a freezing night, and admitting he couldn’t understand why the decision took so long to reach.
Sky Sports co-commentator Chris Sutton was equally unimpressed, calling the decision “a sheer guess from the referee” before adding his now-famous lament: “the game’s gone.”
