Manchester City forward Erling Haaland took to social media to voice his frustration at a late call by referee Simon Hooper in the team’s 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
In the 96th minute with the score level, Tottenham’s Emerson Royal fouled Haaland near the halfway line but the City talisman sprung right back up and regained possession. He then played a long pass to Jack Grealish, who outran a few Spurs players and seemed to be poised to give City their best chance at finding a game winner at the death.
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Instead of playing advantage, though, the referee opted to call the foul on Haaland and stop the play, angering the City players that gathered around him to question his decision. Haaland was visibly irate that the advantage was not played. The reigning champions were unable to create a better chance than that one, and in the end picked up their third successive draw in Premier League play.
Haaland went straight down the tunnel after the final whistle was blown and appeared visibly unhappy with the call, and then took to X to confirm any suspicions. He reposted a clip of the play and simply wrote “Wtf” within a half hour of the game ending.
Manager Pep Guardiola chose to play things more diplomatically when he was asked about the decision in a post-match interview.
“Next question,” he said. “I’ll not do a Mikel Arteta comment,” referencing the Arsenal manager who was recently charged by the FA for criticizing the referees following last month’s loss against Newcastle United.
“It’s hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he’s already said play on,” Guardiola continued. “After the pass, the whistle, I do not understand this action.”
Guardiola also opted not to criticize Haaland for his post-match frustration.
“Normal,” the manager said of the forward’s reaction. “He is a little bit disappointed. Even the referee, if he played for City today, would be disappointed with that action … He is a fantastic player. His frustration is for the last action, not for the game.”
City currently sit third in the Premier League, three points behind first place Arsenal, but return to play on Wednesday at Aston Villa.
