Ilkay Gundogan has described referee Martin Atkinson as "the worst performer" in Manchester City's 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Last season's Championship winners took the lead on 57 minutes when Willy Boly's attempted diving header went in off his hand from Joao Moutinho's free kick.
City drew level in the 69th minute through Aymeric Laporte's first goal for the club, but could not avoid losing their 100% record in the Premier League this term.
"Unfortunately the referee was probably the worst performer [on Saturday], and that's why we lost two points," Gundogan told the Manchester Evening News at full time.
"I'm not a big fan of VAR. It slows the game down while finding a decision. I saw the game yesterday in the Bundesliga between Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim, and even with the VAR the action which created the penalty was not a penalty, and in the end they decided it was. It's very confusing as well.
"But it was not just one mistake in this situation – there were two. I heard first of all it was offside and then it was a clear handball, so the linesman was on site and I expect a Premier League referee to see that and take the correct decision. Unfortunately for us it was not like that and we conceded a goal."
The result, combined with Liverpool's 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion later on in the day, saw the Citizens dethroned from top spot in the table.
Giuseppe Labellarte
