Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola confronted the match referee by storming onto the ground after the Club World Cup 2025 match against Al-Hilal at the Camping World Stadium in Florida. In a video surfaced on social media, Guardiola was seen having a heated interaction with the referee over not giving a foul against Al-Hilal.
The moment occurred after full time as Guardiola was infuriated at not giving a foul to the opposition for seemingly committing a foul before the game ended. Nevertheless, the referee blew the whistle without giving Doku a foul before the regulation time as the scoreline stood 2-2 after full time.
Watch the video here:
The extra time saw Al-Hilal pip Manchester City by 4-3, dumping the latter out of the tournament.
"I cannot thank the players enough for training and playing how they have been" - Pep Guardiola
Speaking after the 4-3 defeat, Guardiola expressed his disappointment, claiming that they would have loved to continue but admitted it's time to rest their minds and prepare for a new season. The 54-year-old stated, as quoted by independent.co.uk:
"It is a pity. We have been on incredible journey together and were in a good place. The vibe was really good. I cannot thank the players enough for training and playing how they have been. We would have loved to have continued, it will only be once every four years, and we had a feeling that the team was doing well. But we go home and now it is time to rest and rest our minds for the new season."
