Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Top bosses need to show a bit more respect
THE top men at Manchester City, it seems, are not too pleased with football’s authorities at the moment.
They are a bit annoyed Bernardo Silva has been banned for a match and are still unhappy with the officiating last Sunday, both on the pitch at Anfield and at the VAR headquarters near Heathrow.
There is even a suggestion they have fired off a letter of complaint.
Instead, they should be firing off a letter of thanks.
In particular, thanking the FA and referees for giving Pep Guardiola an easy time.
Brilliant coach, brilliant guy, very nice man, let’s hope he stays in the Premier League for a long, long time.
He has produced a team that is better to watch than any other in my lifetime.
But, boy, is he indulged?
The template was set back in January of 2018 when Guardiola marched on to the field post-match to confront Lee Mason after the referee had failed to send off Cardiff City’s Joe Bennett for an admittedly heinous foul on Leroy Sane.
But no matter how serious the grievance, jabbing a finger towards the referee should be unacceptable.
Yet he got off with that one scot-free, even though, a couple of months earlier, he had been “reminded of his responsibilities” after bizarrely accosting Southampton’s Nathan Redmond on the pitch after a Premier League game at the Etihad.
In fact, it was not until January of this year that Guardiola had his first warning in English domestic football.
During a predictably frantic game against Liverpool, he theatrically threw his scarf to the ground and shouted angrily at fourth official Martin Atkinson.
But no more angrily than the manner in which he berated Mike Dean on the touchline at Anfield five days ago. That went unpunished, as did his deeply sarcastic gratitude to Michael Oliver after the final whistle.
Is it now OK for all managers to do that?
When Jose Mourinho saluted officials as “unbelievable” and “fantastic” after his Chelsea team were beaten by Sunderland in 2014, he was fined £10,000 for improper conduct.
If Guardiola’s behaviour during and after the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool was not improper conduct, it is hard to know what is. It has to be stressed he is not the only manager who gets an easy ride from the powers that be.
His No.1 adversary gets away with giving the fourth official as hard a time as any manager out there.
At least Jurgen Klopp was fined eight grand after running on to the pitch when Divock Origi scored the late winner in a Merseyside derby a year ago. But Klopp continues to rant and rave on the touchline, giving Jon Moss a particularly vitriolic going-over in last month’s draw at Old Trafford.
We all know the presence of the fourth official is an invitation for dissent. It is almost as though that is what he is there for.
And, as well as their coaching brilliance, the unbridled passion Guardiola and Klopp bring to the Premier League is wonderful.
But, across the professional board, the level of respect for the officials is not improving and that is filtering through all tiers of the game.
No wonder the amateur game is struggling to find referees.
Maybe it is because they manage, quite superbly, the two most thrilling teams in the English game that Guardiola and Klopp appear to be indulged.
Plus, the VAR debate has been a distraction from the scale of dissent towards officials.
But it remains unacceptable. And it is down to the likes of Guardiola – and Klopp – to set a better example.