Pep Guardiola was adamant he would not 'do a Mikel Arteta' rant after Manchester City were denied victory against Tottenham.
The Citizens dropped points for the third Premier League game in a row as they were held to a 3-3 draw against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
City, who have now drawn three matches in a row despite leading against Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, sit third in the table – three points behind leaders Arsenal.
But they could have claimed all three points had Simon Hooper continued to allow play to go on after Erling Haaland had sent Jack Grealish through on goal.
The referee, who initially signalled the advantage, decided to bring the game back for a free-kick – much to anger of the City squad – with Haaland venting his fury on social media.
Guardiola was asked about the controversial incident by Sky Sports, but he decided to remain tight-lipped.
Though he did reference Arsenal manager Arteta’s angry outburst following the Gunners’ defeat at Newcastle in November, where he hit out at the ’embarrassing’ and ‘disgraceful’ decisions at St James’ Park.
Arteta was subsequently charged by the Football Association over his comments about Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner.
Giving his view on Hooper’s decision to award City a free-kick, Guardiola said: “Next question.
“I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment. It is hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he has already said to play on.
“After the pass, the whistle, so I do not understand this action. It was a good game, that is the most important thing.
“It was a pity, same as the Liverpool game, I had the feeling that today that we made an incredible performance in all departments, against a really good team and manager and how they play.
“We created a lot of chances, we were aggressive, incredibly concentrated, and the feeling is that we still want to be there [at the top of the table].
“It is a pity. Sometimes football is like life, you do not get what you deserve.”
