Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged Liverpool to move on from the VAR controversy that contributed to the Reds’ defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mohamed Salah put Luis Diaz clean through on goal and he rifled the ball past Guglielmo Vicario, only for his celebration to be cut short by the offside flag.
Upon VAR review, it was revealed that the decision to disallow the goal was incorrect but referee Darren England and his assistant Dan Cook failed to notify on-field referee Simon Hooper about the howler.
The incident, which represents a major scandal for the already underfire VAR, has been the primary talking point throughout the week.
After the VAR audio recordings were released, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called for a replay of the clash that saw Tottenham Hotspur emerge 2-1 winners.
However, Guardiola has urged the Merseysiders to move on from the incident, having already received an apology from PGMOL while the officials involved have been benched.
“It’s done – it was a mistake – accept it,” Guardiola told Sky Sports in his pre-match press conference ahead of Man City’s trip to Arsenal.
“It’s always difficult. The human makes a mistake, but the machines have to uphold it. That’s why the VAR is there to reduce all the human mistakes we do.
“But at the end the machines are being [controlled] by human beings, so it’s happened, it was a mistake, so hopefully it finishes here and gets better – improve on that.
“I think the Premier League and the people from VAR will improve on that, so hopefully it will be better in the future.”
Guardiola’s Man City are preparing for a mouth-watering weekend encounter as they travel to last season’s runners-up, with just one point separating both sides.
Having suffered defeat in their previous Premier League trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Spanish tactician will be determined to avoid a similar fate against his mentee.
However, the Cityzens will head to the Emirates Stadium with a psychological advantage, boasting a 12-match unbeaten streak against their title rivals.
