Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur played out an exhilarating 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium, with Dejan Kulusevski netting a late equalizer for Ange Postecoglou’s team. As a result, Liverpool climbed to the second position in the table, edging past City by a solitary point. Tempers flared among some City players following a late decision by referee Simon Hooper, leading to protests led by Erling Haaland.
Initially, Hooper played an advantage for Pep Guardiola’s team, but subsequently brought the game back for a foul just as Jack Grealish was about to have a one-on-one scoring chance. Haaland expressed his frustration on social media, posting ‘wtf’ in response to a video highlighting the perceived refereeing mistake.
According to reports, the Football Association (FA) is contemplating viewing Haaland’s post as containing offensive language. Moreover, City might face charges for failing to control their players, as Haaland, Kovacic, and others confronted referee Simon Hooper after the contentious decision. Pep Guardiola addressed the incident in his post-match remarks.
“The regulations prohibit conversations with the referees or fourth officials, so theoretically, we should have had ten players sent off today.”
“If the referee had been a player for Man City today, he would surely be disappointed with that action.”
