Pep Guardiola was not pleased with one aspect of Manchester City’s win over Plymouth – now the FA have stepped in

Pep Guardiola was not pleased with one aspect of Manchester City’s win over Plymouth – now the FA have stepped in

The Mitre Ultimax Pro Emirates FA Cup 20224/25 match ball

The FA Cup 2024/25 match ball, manufactured by Mitre, that Pep Guardiola has criticised
The Football Association have hit back at Pep Guardiola after the Manchester City manager’s ‘not proper’ complaint about the quality of the Mitre-manufactured footballs used in the FA Cup.

Keeping in the hunt for the historic piece of silverware – just – Man City came from behind to win 3-1 vs Plymouth Argyle, the Championship outfit that had been responsible for eliminating Liverpool in the previous round.

Maksym Talovierov had put Argyle ahead against the run of play, but strikes from Nico O’Reilly and Kevin de Bruyne ensured the heavy favourites were put into the hat for the quarter-finals. But their goals were a fraction of only three of nine shots on target managed, and those nine on target were an even more minuscule portion of 29 attempts overall.

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As a result Guardiola complained about the quality of the football used, stating: “The ball is not proper. I’m sorry. For many years it’s happened in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. I know it’s a business and they come to agreements, but the ball is not (good).

“You know how many shots went over the post? Not just Erling [Haaland]’s – look at other games. I’ve said it for many years. It’s the truth. The Champions League ball is exceptional, the Premier League is exceptional, this one is not good.”

This mirrored a rant by Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta about the Carabao Cup’s Puma-manufactured footballs, but like the English Football League on that occasion, the FA have come out with a staunch defence of their own partnership agreement.

“Mitre’s Ultimax Pro ball — used in the Emirates FA Cup and all other FA Competitions — has been tested in accordance with FIFA testing,” an FA spokesperson said in response to Guardiola’s comments.

“All footballs in the professional game are required to meet the FIFA Quality pro accreditation, and this ball delivers against all of the testing requirements. Alongside Mitre, we understand that preference is subjective.

“But we’re confident that the ball performs well. With over 350 goals scored in the knockout competition so far, it provides an exciting element to such a competitive tournament,” an FA Spokesperson has responded to Guardiola’s comments.

In the final-eight of the competition Man City were drawn an away tie at fellow Premier League side Bournemouth. Other matches in the round will be Fulham vs Crystal Palace, Preston North End vs Aston Villa and Brighton vs Ipswich or Nottingham Forest. With dates unconfirmed exactly as of now, those will be played on the weekend commencing March 28.

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