Investigate refereeing consistency in Manchester City matches this season

The Issue

Manchester City seems to be dealing with a bunch of bad calls from referees this season. Its not just in the Premier League either, but also the Champions League. The decisions keep going against them way too often, and it feels like more than random chance sometimes.

Take the game against Real Madrid for instance. Bernardo Silva got his first red card ever in his career. It was for a handball, but his arm was in a pretty normal spot. Meanwhile, Madrid players had several handballs right in the penalty area, and none of those even got looked at by VAR. That stands out a lot.

Then theres Rodri. He got fined 80,000 pounds just for pointing out what everyone notices week after week. The officiating has been stacked against City, he said, and fans and players agree. Its like you cant even talk about it without getting punished.

Other stuff too. Like against Liverpool, Cherkis goal got disallowed after VAR stepped in for what looked like barely any contact. And with Tottenham, Solanke clearly fouled Guehi, but that let them equalize and the goal counted anyway. Oh, and Haaland got taken out in the box versus Nottingham Forest. No penalty called there at all.

All season, these 50/50 decisions just keep falling the wrong way for City. Players and staff have even said publicly that they see the pattern. I mean, its not like one off mistakes or bad luck piling up. This has been going on across different competitions.

It makes you wonder about how consistent the referees are, or if theres real accountability. Are all teams really held to the same rules. That part gets a bit unclear, but the examples add up in a way that does not feel fair.

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David NPetition Starter

3

The Issue

Manchester City seems to be dealing with a bunch of bad calls from referees this season. Its not just in the Premier League either, but also the Champions League. The decisions keep going against them way too often, and it feels like more than random chance sometimes.

Take the game against Real Madrid for instance. Bernardo Silva got his first red card ever in his career. It was for a handball, but his arm was in a pretty normal spot. Meanwhile, Madrid players had several handballs right in the penalty area, and none of those even got looked at by VAR. That stands out a lot.

Then theres Rodri. He got fined 80,000 pounds just for pointing out what everyone notices week after week. The officiating has been stacked against City, he said, and fans and players agree. Its like you cant even talk about it without getting punished.

Other stuff too. Like against Liverpool, Cherkis goal got disallowed after VAR stepped in for what looked like barely any contact. And with Tottenham, Solanke clearly fouled Guehi, but that let them equalize and the goal counted anyway. Oh, and Haaland got taken out in the box versus Nottingham Forest. No penalty called there at all.

All season, these 50/50 decisions just keep falling the wrong way for City. Players and staff have even said publicly that they see the pattern. I mean, its not like one off mistakes or bad luck piling up. This has been going on across different competitions.

It makes you wonder about how consistent the referees are, or if theres real accountability. Are all teams really held to the same rules. That part gets a bit unclear, but the examples add up in a way that does not feel fair.

avatar of the starter
David NPetition Starter

The Decision Makers

Tony Scholes
Tony Scholes
Chief Football Officer, Premier League
Howard Webb
Howard Webb
Chief Refereeing Officer, PGMOL
Roberto Rosetti
Roberto Rosetti
Managing Director of Refereeing, UEFA
mark.bullingham@thefa.com
mark.bullingham@thefa.com
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