The Football Association has charged Manchester City after their heated altercation with referee Simon Hooper during the exciting 3-3 match against Tottenham on Sunday.
The team who won the Premier League has been accused of not managing their players’ behavior after a disagreement broke out following Hooper’s choice to not give City a potential advantage in the last few minutes of the game. Erling Haaland, who was the most vocal in expressing his dissatisfaction and was seen yelling at Hooper up close, will not face individual charges for his actions, including a tweet he posted right after the match.
The referee Hooper made a contentious decision in the 95th minute of the second half. Haaland was tripped by Yves Bissouma, but still managed to pass the ball over the Tottenham defense to set up Jack Grealish for a clear run towards the goal. Hooper appeared to signal that he had allowed Manchester City to continue their attack, but then blew his whistle and brought play back for the initial foul.
Haaland quickly approached the referee and was accompanied by several other players from City. After the game, the Norwegian angrily walked off the field and shared a video of the incident to his six million followers on X, adding the caption: “What the f***.”
The FA charged City on Monday according to rule E20.1, which requires a club to prevent its players from engaging in improper, offensive, violent, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting, or provocative behavior. The club has until Thursday to contest the charge.
Haaland was not punished by the FA for his use of social media, as their rules allow players to criticize match officials after a game as long as it does not suggest bias or attack their integrity. However, his use of “Wtf” was deemed to go beyond these criteria.
There is currently a growing worry about how referees are treated in men’s football, ranging from the highest level in the Premier League to local amateur games. Recently, the governing body of football, the International Football Association Board, announced plans to increase the implementation of temporary suspensions for players who show disrespect towards officials. They have also emphasized the importance of enforcing the rules against players and coaches who display disrespectful behavior and managing situations where there are large confrontations.
During the month of February, an independent panel imposed a fine of £75,000 on City due to their inability to manage their players during a Premier League win against Arsenal in the same month.
Source: theguardian.com
