Man City to Meet Premier League Refereeing Governing Body to Discuss Concerns Over Horror Tackles

Manchester City officials are set to meet with the Premier League's refereeing governing body, after their manager Pep Guardiola raised concerns over his players being targeted by aggressive tackles from their opposition.

As reported by the Guardian, City are pushing for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to implement a new system where bad challenges can be punished retrospectively via a panel decision - as they believe a number of tackles against their players in recent weeks are deserving of a more substantial punishment than handed out by the referee.

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Guardiola's discontent with Premier League officials is thought to stretch back his side's New Year's Eve fixture against Crystal Palace, when Jason Puncheon launched a wild challenge of Kevin De Bruyne. The former Barcelona manager was also incensed by Cardiff City's Joe Bennett's tackle on Leroy Sané in their Fourth Round FA Cup clash.

The PGMOL are believed to be unlikely to be receptive to City's demands of upgrading a yellow card to a red by means of a post-match panel debate, but will instead remind the club of the extensive training referees to prepare them for matches, and the means by which they decide whether a tackle is worthy of a straight sending off.

In other news, the Citizens are believed to have joined Arsenal and Manchester United in the race to sign Ajax wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt, who has been widely-tipped as one of the most promising young defenders in European football. 

However, with the player contracted to the club until 2021, any potential suitors will need to spend big to snatch the youngster away from de Godenzonen.