Pep Guardiola admits he no longer understands handball law after VAR controversies in Copenhagen 0-0 Man City

Pep Guardiola has said he no longer understands the handball law after Manchester City’s 0-0 Champions League draw with Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Riyad Mahrez was adjudged to have handled the ball the build-up to Rodri’s early goal in Denmark, which resulted in the thunderbolt from City’s No.16 being ruled out after a pitchside review by the referee.

A similar situation occurred around 15 minutes later after Nicolai Boilesen was deemed to have committed a handball in the box, resulting in the visitors being awarded a penalty, one which was ultimately missed by Mahrez.

This follows a weekend when three handball incidents involving Michail Antonio, Gabriel Magalhaes and Marcus Rashford in the Premier League were interpreted differently.

Asked whether he still understands one of the basic laws of the game, Guardiola responded: “No. It is what it is. Just see Inter Milan and Barcelona last week, what happened. Just see what happened in Arsenal vs Liverpool with Saliba [Gabriel] in the first half. So, no [I don’t understand].”

Guardiola happy with a point

Despite City dropping their first points in the Champions League this season, Guardiola insisted he was pleased with the draw as it all but guarantees the team’s spot in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Guardiola was also happy with how his side coped with playing around an hour with 10 men, following Sergio Gomez’s red card in an action-packed first half after he pulled back Hakon Arnar Haraldsson as the striker made a run towards goal.

Speaking after the match, Guardiola said: “I am really satisfied with a team that gives everything with 11 vs 10 for one hour in Europe. We concede few [chances], we start really well and many things happen.

“Mathematically we are not in the next round, this is the most important thing when we start this competition,” he added. “We are not there mathematically but we have to lose 5-0 to Sevilla at home. We are going to recover, prepare [for the] next game and go to Dortmund to try and get a result, and Sevilla to finish first in the group stage.”