(PLO) – Coach Pep Guardiola was angry with the Premier League leadership when Man City lost a key star in defense because of… the offside rule.
Pep Guardiola was angry with the Premier League’s regulations surrounding the offside flag that caused John Stones to be unnecessarily injured in Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Everton in the last round 19 of the Premier League.
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Man City coach Pep Guardiola was upset with the Premier League’s offside rule. John Stones had an unhappy day when he returned to Goodison Park to face his old team Everton. The English midfielder only played 43 minutes before leaving the field due to distraction. Stones has just returned from injury but now he is injured again.
At the end of the first half, Everton’s Beto escaped, Stones tried to chase Beto. Beto was clearly in an offside position, but a few seconds later the linesman raised the offside flag. Because of chasing to stop Beto, Stones suffered an unnecessary serious injury. If the referee had flagged offside faster, Man City’s midfielder would not have had to waste his energy chasing after Beto and then leave the field injured early.
Under Premier League rules, assistant referees are encouraged not to immediately raise the offside flag, although some offsides are clearly visible to the naked eye. Having VAR technology to review the situation has caused the referees to be asked not to raise the offside flag early.
Now, John Stones has a very serious injury and could continue to be out for a long time. Man City coach Pep Guardiola was very angry and he expressed his disappointment with the Premier League’s offside rule.
Man City coach Pep Guardiola said: “I don’t understand. It’s too obvious, it was an offside ball, and now John Stones is injured. They said ‘you’re right, Pep Guardiola, you’re right’, but it’s too late.” It’s not them (the referees), the regulations come from the big bosses of the Premier League, but I don’t understand.”
Regarding midfielder John Stones’ injury, Man City’s Spanish strategist Pep Guardiola added: “It doesn’t look good, but we will see. John Stones has an ankle injury.”
Man City’s English midfielder John Stones has struggled to come back from injury but now he will have to miss more matches. The Premier League’s offside rule has angered many people since its introduction. English football legend Alan Shearer said on Amazon Prime: “This is the problem with not raising the flag. They continue to play and one day there will be a player injured.”
This issue has been of concern to Premier League players and coaches for many seasons. Back in 2021, Rui Patricio suffered a serious injury while playing for Wolves. This Portuguese goalkeeper collided heads with teammate Conor Coady in the loss to Liverpool. After that, Rui Patricio had to leave the field on a stretcher.
At that time, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said the use of the offside flag too slowly “needs to be considered”. Former referee Mark Halsey shared on Sun Sports (UK): “I had big concerns about the handling process throughout the season, it was an accident waiting to happen.”
Despite the frustration and concern, Premier League chiefs continue to stick to the rule which they believe can lead to goals, as the gap between offside and offside is sometimes razor-thin. If the referee raises the offside flag early but in fact the player is not offside, a team will lose the opportunity to score. Instead, the referee is encouraged to raise the offside flag late, or even without raising the flag to wait for the ball situation to end. After that, VAR technology will be considered later.
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PHAM QUANG
