Pep Guardiola was left unhappy with the refereeing team during Manchester City’s victory over Wolves when his side were denied a penalty for handball
Not long after Pep Guardiola’s complaints, the Premier League have decided to exclude referee Farai Hallam from this weekend’s matches. The Manchester City manager was left astounded when his side did not get a penalty in their 2-0 home victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Hallam, 32, took charge of his first match in the top division of English football when he stepped onto the pitch at the Etihad Stadium at the weekend. He made a bold statement by ignoring the recommendations of VAR when he was called to the pitch-side monitor.
Hallam was told to have another look at an incident which saw City forward Omar Marmoush cut the ball back onto the arm of Yerson Mosquera. Despite watching the footage, the official chose to keep his original decision of no penalty, insisting the Wolves‘ defender’s arm was in a “natural position”.
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Hallam, in front of the 53,000 approximate crowd, said: “After review, the ball hits the arm of the Wolves player, which is in a natural position, so the on-field decision will remain.”
It had little bearing on the result as City went on to record a comfortable 2-0 victory thanks to a goal from Marmoush and a second strike from Antoine Semenyo on the stroke of half time. Nevertheless, Guardiola was still furious he did not get a penalty.
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Hallam has not been included in this weekend’s round of matches. He has not been listed as a referee, assistant, fourth official, VAR or assistant VAR official in any of the matches.
There is no suggestion this is a consequence of his decision, or if he was originally not going to be involved in this week’s matches. What was clear was Guardiola’s unhappiness with the call. In his post-match media duties, he said: “The player’s arm is out from his body.
“The ref made a huge debut…so now everyone will know him, but it’s OK. It’s the first time they go to a TV and disallowed what is a ‘normal’ position of the arms.”
He also had a dig at PGMOL chief Howard Webb, by saying: “I’m waiting for a phone call to explain why it wasn’t a penalty.”
It was a vital result for Guardiola’s side, given Arsenal’s 3-2 away defeat to Manchester United. City moved within four points of the Premier League leaders with 15 matches still to play.
The victory also ended City’s run of four Premier League matches without a win, which saw them draw with Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion, before their derby loss to United the week before.
They host Galatasaray in a crucial Champions League match at the Etihad Stadium, before travelling to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and facing Newcastle United in the second-leg of their League Cup semi-final.
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
