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Erling Haaland quickly responded on social media to a significant mistake made by the referee during the exciting 3-3 draw between Manchester City and Tottenham at the Etihad. As a result, Haaland may potentially be subject to disciplinary measures.
Haaland was the leader of the protests when City’s players believed they were unfairly denied a scoring opportunity due to referee Simon Hooper’s failure to play a crucial advantage during stoppage time.
Jack Grealish was through on goal when Hooper brought the play back for a foul on Haaland, after the striker had been clipped by Tottenham defender Emerson Royal.
Haaland remained upright and continued the play, passing the ball to Grealish. Despite Hooper initially indicating that City had the advantage, the referee ultimately blew his whistle after the ball was released.
After the protests led by Haaland at the end of the game, he had to be held back. This occurred as a result of City not winning for the third consecutive Premier League match. Following this, the striker took to Twitter/X to share his reaction.
In response to a video of the event, Haaland expressed his surprise with a simple “Wtf”.
During a Sky Sports broadcast, ex-Manchester United leader Roy Keane stated that the referee had committed an error, while former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher commented that Hooper had reacted impulsively by stopping play.
Micah Richards, a former Manchester City defender, expressed his belief that the referee had a great performance in today’s match, until this particular moment. Richards was confused by the referee’s decision to signal for advantage, but then abruptly stopping the play when Jack Grealish was in a clear scoring opportunity. This decision was puzzling to Richards.
Haaland was at the forefront of the demonstrations.
In a recent statement, Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola stated that he would not publicly criticize referees, unlike Mikel Arteta, his former assistant and current manager of Arsenal, in reference to the 3-3 tie against Tottenham which sparked controversy.
In the previous month, Arteta was officially accused by the Football Association for his remarks about Premier League referees and VAR. Following a 1-0 loss to Newcastle, Arteta expressed his disappointment with the decision to award Anthony Gordon’s winning goal, calling it an “outrage” and “shameful”.
However, Guardiola stated that he would not take the same approach. Despite expressing confusion about the decision to resume play, the manager declined to elaborate.
When questioned about the event, he responded with: “I will not make a comment like Mikel Arteta. Ask me another question.”
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“It can be difficult when, upon reviewing the image, the referee chooses to blow the whistle after initially signaling to continue play. The whistle is blown after the pass, leaving me confused by this decision.”
The game was well-played, which is the most crucial aspect. Unfortunately, similar to the Liverpool match, I felt that we put on an incredible performance in all areas today against a strong team and manager, given their playing style.
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“We had many opportunities, we played with aggression and intense focus, and we have a strong desire to remain at the top of the table.”
“It’s unfortunate. At times, football mirrors life in that you don’t always get what you deserve.”
Despite their dominant performance, City struggled to convert their chances, as Haaland failed to score from an easy opportunity and Doku and Alvaraz hit the post. Tottenham’s Kulusevski saved the day with a last-minute header, securing a draw at the Etihad and breaking their three-game losing streak in the Premier League under manager Ange Postecoglou.
Kulusevski’s impressive jump prevented City from securing a win in a thrilling match. This also marks the third consecutive game where Pep Guardiola’s team has failed to secure a victory, following draws against Chelsea and Liverpool.
Spurs, who had many players injured, scored the first goal with Son Heung-min capitalizing on a well-executed counter-attack. However, their captain, Tottenham, scored an own goal just two minutes later when he accidentally deflected a free-kick into the net.
Postecoglou’s side stuck to their bold and attacking plan despite their injury crisis and City could have been out of sight as they routinely tore the visitors apart, with Phil Foden putting them in front after the half hour.
The City team squandered their opportunities, but the Spurs team managed to score a well-earned tie in the second half thanks to a beautiful curling shot by Giovani Lo Celso.
The team from City rallied in the last moments and Grealish took advantage of a careless pass from Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma to regain the lead. Then, Kulusevski’s stunning header sealed the victory.
Source: independent.co.uk
