The game here isn't bent by instruction or obvious coercion imo, it's bent by indoctrination & subconcious intimidation.
The Sky, BT etc reaction to City recently, compared to Liverpool & Utd for example. The witch hunt to get us red carded compared to the DELIBERATE & it is DELIBERATE, watering down & boderline ignoring of Ibrahimovic' actions.
In recent years we have been branded cheats, accused of ruining football & right now we are a team with a manager & players who are out of control. Our rivals on the other hand are heroes of not just the modern game, but the whole history of football, who bring through their own players & do everything in the right way, & on whom the Premier League are relying to promote their product.
Refs are only human. They get this drummed into them by the football industry, every day of their lives, the same as the public.