Man City faces heavy penalty, Haaland luckily escapes

In the final minute of the match between Tottenham and Man City in round 14 of the Premier League on the evening of December 3, referee Simon Hooper made a controversial decision that was disadvantageous to Man City.

Initially, he gave the club an advantage when Haaland was fouled, but immediately after the ball touched Jack Grealish's foot (running down to face the goalkeeper), the referee blew the whistle.

Man City faces punishment for pressuring the referee (Photo: Sky Sports).

Referee Simon Hooper's decision made Man City players furious. They surrounded the referee to explain. Haaland was the one who reacted the most violently. Not only did he shout at the referee, the Norwegian striker also had bad words after the match.

After reviewing the situation, the FA has formally charged Man City. In a statement, the body said: "Manchester City have been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 after their players surrounded the referee during the Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 3 December.

In the 94th minute of the match, Man City FC failed to control the improper behavior of the players. They have until Thursday, December 7, to respond to the allegations."

Remarkably, Haaland was not charged. That means the player escaped personal punishment. BBC journalist Simon Stone commented: "Man City were charged for the actions of their players surrounding the incident in injury time. Erling Haaland will not face any further punishment."

Referee Simon Hooper made a decision that was disadvantageous to Man City (Photo: Sky Sports).

Speaking after the match, coach Pep Guardiola tried to suppress his anger. He said: "I don't want to comment too much on the referee, like Mikel Arteta did (protesting Gordon's goal against Arsenal on November 4).

It's annoying to watch the slow-motion replays and think about how the referee blew the whistle despite giving Man City the advantage. Honestly, I don't understand what he was thinking. And Haaland's reaction? It's normal. It's understandable that he was disappointed."

After the draw with Tottenham, Man City was pushed down to 3rd place with 30 points, 3 points behind the leader Arsenal. Meanwhile, Tottenham dropped to 5th place with 27 points.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/man-city-doi-dien-voi-an-phat-nang-haaland-may-man-thoat-nan-20231205095052574.htm