Manchester City register a complaint to referee's chief Mike Riley over VAR, Oliver

Manchester City have reportedly registered a formal complaint to PGMOL chief Mike Riley over the performance of referee Michael Oliver during their defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday. Oliver and VAR were at the centre of the controversy after Man City were denied two penalty claims for handball against Trent Alexander-Arnold. Man City eventually lost 3-1 with Pep Guardiola was furious after the game.

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Manchester City vs Liverpool: VAR troubles or poor officiating?

The biggest talking point of the Premier League Matchday 12 was the failure to award a penalty to Manchester City when the ball hit Trent Alexander-Arnold’s arm in the penalty box in the first 10 minutes of the contest. As some City players complained to Michael Oliver, Liverpool went down the other end of the pitch and scored through Fabinho mere seconds later.

A similar incident followed in the second half when the ball hit Alexander-Arnold's arm again but no penalty was awarded. After the second incident, City boss Pep Guardiola fumed at fourth official Mike Dean over the decisions. Guardiola was unsurprisingly frustrated with the decisions and his disappointment seemed to boil over when he sarcastically congratulated Michael Oliver during a post-match handshake. 

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Manchester City register an official complaint to Mike Riley

As a result, the Premier League champions filed an official complaint and apparently have 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 remains unclear.

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But Mike Riley appears to be in favour of VAR

Reports also suggest that Riley is said to have responded 'constructively' to the letter ahead of a shareholder meeting of all 20 Premier League clubs set to take place on Thursday, in which the chief will give an update on the implementation of VAR. It is, however, believed that the chief himself is 'well pleased with the way VAR is working at the moment'

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