Pep Guardiola claims Man City were unfairly punished in rant at Premier League referees

Pep Guardiola has pulled double standards from match officials when it comes to wasting time, insisting his Manchester City side have been unfairly punished this season. The City boss has spoken out on the matter ahead of a visit from one of the Premier League's worst offenders, Eddie Howe's Newcastle United.

Yet it was unfair treatment of his team that got Guardiola annoyed rather than asking today's referee to watch the Magpies closely. Erik ten Hag, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta have all accused Newcastle of wasting time this season on the Manchester United boss, saying their slow play was a deliberate tactic to 'annoy' opponents.

And Guardiola believes his side, who he says want to keep the ball in play more than any other Premier League side, have been unfairly penalized on more than one occasion. Guardiola believes the bookings for Ederson at the Emirates, Erling Haaland against Everton on New Year's Eve and Rico Lewis against Leeds earlier in December were all unfair.

And of the three, it was the first, to waste time, that annoyed him the most. "If it's a waste of time we'll get a yellow card for Ederson, don't worry," the City boss said sarcastically.

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"We are the team with the least wasted time in our career and the first time we go to Arsenal after 35, 37 minutes we received a yellow card, so don't worry about wasting time It depends on the referee but I'm sure the yellow will be for Ederson.

"How many thousands of millions of games do teams come to the Etihad Stadium and waste time on goalkeepers? 20 seconds each time, the goal kick and long ball and long ball and long ball nothing happens. Absolutely nothing happens. And after going there, we want to be active to play and we get a yellow card."

Guardiola's grievances relate more to unwarranted warnings rather than the overall numbers given his side have the fewest yellow cards this season, along with West Ham. And he insisted he trusted Etihad officials this lunchtime to closely monitor Newcastle's behavior whether they defended a point or a lead.

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City will be looking to sink the boot into a bruised Newcastle just six days after their Carabao Cup loss to Manchester United. And Guardiola says lessons were learned from the 3-3 draw at St James's Park earlier in the season.

"We haven't found space in this game and the way they press has caused us problems at times," he said. "They were amazing.

"What happened last season and this season is a step forward and they are here to stay. They will be one of the toughest opponents we have by the end of the season. They are one of the best teams and that is why they are here."