Bacary Sagna believes Manchester City are being unfairly treated by Premier League referees after his side were denied a penalty late on in their goalless midweek draw with Everton.
City lost ground in the title race on Wednesday as they were held by Everton at the Etihad Stadium despite long spells of second-half pressure and what appeared a clear penalty for a foul on Raheem Sterling shortly before full-time.
Everton defender John Stones appeared to clatter into his England team-mate but referee Roger East waved away City protests.
And a frustrated Sagna feels it is becoming a regular occurence for his side to be hard done by when it comes to decisions from the officials.
"It's not the first time. In the beginning we didn't say anything but now - it was the case against Leicester with [Sergio] Aguero [as well]," he told reporters.
"The whole team are being unfairly treated. I don't know why because it isn't the first time it's happened this season. Mistakes are natural - they [referees] are human beings - but at the end of the day we're not getting the penalties - against Everton, Leicester and many other games.
"I don't want to blame the referee because he's the only official on the pitch. Maybe have someone behind the goal. What do we have to do to win a penalty if we get the touch in the box? When it's against us it's clearly a penalty and we're punished straight away.
"If it happens in the middle of the pitch it's not a problem - it's clearly a foul. When in the box it's a big difference when it shouldn’t be."
