Howard Webb ‘should pay Pep Guardiola a visit’ as Man City boss explodes after Wolves controversies
Howard Webb must visit the City Football Academy after Pep Guardiola publicly complained about decisions in Man City’s win over Wolves.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the City boss is within his rights to demand an explanation of controversial decisions.
In the first half, Omar Marmoush was denied a penalty after a blatant handball in the box by Yerson Mosquera, and that was only the first of two bad decisions on Saturday, 24 January.
Farai Hallam was officiating a Premier League game for the first time, deciding that Mosquera would only be cautioned for his studs-up challenge on Jeremy Doku, despite many calling for a red.
The Catalan was visibly frustrated with both decisions in his post-match press conference, demanding an explanation for why his side were denied a penalty and his winger was allowed to be injured again.
Pep Guardiola should not be punished for his post-match outburst
It was only a matter of games ago when Doku was fouled by Diogo Dalot, though Webb was adamant that a simple yellow card was the right decision there, as well.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “It is likely that Pep Guardiola will have been surprised by the appointment of a referee doing his first Premier League game involving his team.
“I have already stated that, in my opinion, handball is a subjective decision. VAR got this one correct, and the referee was wrong to stick to his decision. Pep wants a review and explanation from Webb.
“That’s not unreasonable. Managers should have the right to express a view. Webb should be on the phone and pay him a visit. Rotherham to Manchester is a short distance.”
Howard Webb told to address refereeing issues once again
As the former head of the PGMOL, Hackett had a lot of experience when it came to dealing with frustrated Premier League referees, so Webb should be taking this advice as quickly as possible.
Hackett predicted that David Moyes would be on the phone to Webb after Everton had a goal disallowed against Aston Villa, but he is more than happy for this to be normalised again.
Often, managers are punished for speaking their minds to the media, but when the consensus is that two blunders have been made by a referee, the City boss has hardly said anything out of order.
Guardiola is rarely one to bite his tongue when it comes to wrong decisions, but on this occasion, he has done it in a respectful manner and certainly deserves a response from the head of the PGMOL.