Pep Guardiola was furious with Michael Oliver after the Anfield game (Picture: Getty Images)

Manchester City have filed an official complaint against referee Michael Oliver for his performance in ther clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Manager Pep Guardiola and a number of City players were clearly furious with the officiating during the huge clash at the top of the Premier League table, which the Reds won 3-1.

The biggest talking point was the failure to award a penalty to City whe nthe ball clearly hit Trent Alexander-Arnold’s arm in the penalty box in the first 10 minutes of the contest.

As some City players complained to Oliver, Liverpool went down the other end of the pitch and scored 22 seconds later, really rubbing salt into the wounds.




There was another potential handball not given against Alexander-Arnold later in the match, while it also seemed Sadio Mane pushed over Raheem Sterling in the penalty area in the second half.

Man City players questioned a number of Oliver’s decisions (Picture: Getty Images)

As a result, the Premier League champions sent a letter to Mike Riley, the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), although what they hope to achieve from this is unclear.

Riley caused controversy among Premier League referees this week by saying that he is ‘well pleased with the way VAR is working at the moment,’ reports the Sun.

Select Group One officials were at a two-day meeting in Leicestershire when Riley is reported to have said how pleased he is with the new technology, with referees and assistants stunned by his stance.

His response suggests that little will be done to change VAR, or even get rid of it as some people in football would like to see.

Riley is meeting with Premier League chairmen on Thursday, and he specifically will argue for the pitchside monitors not to be used by referees, or at least sparingly.

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