Erling Haaland took to social media to post an immediate response to a major refereeing error at the end of Manchester City and Tottenham’s thrilling 3-3 draw at the Etihad, and the striker could now face disciplinary action.
Haaland led the protests at full time after City’s players felt they had been denied a goalscoring chance when referee Simon Hooper failed to play a key advantage in 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 was able to stay on his feet to continue the move and release Grealish and although Hooper initially signalled City had the advantage, the referee then blew his whistle after the ball was played.
Haaland had to be restrained at full-time after leading the protests, which came after City dropped points for a third Premier League game in a row, and the striker then took to Twitter/X to post his response.
Reacting to a clip of the incident, Haaland simply responded: “Wtf”.
On Sky Sports, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said the referee had made a “mistake” while former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said Hooper had “panicked” by bringing play back.
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards added: “The referee had a brilliant game today until this moment. I don’t understand. He puts the whistle to his mouth, he waves it on but stops to play advantage. Grealish is clearly through but then he stops the play, which I just don’t understand.”
Haaland led the protests— (Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he would not “do a Mikel Arteta” by criticising referees following the controversial 3-3 draw against Tottenham, in an apparent dig at his former assistant and Arsenal boss.
Arteta was charged by the Football Association last month following his criticism of Premier League referees and VAR. After a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle, Arteta said the decision to award Anthony Gordon’s winner was an “absolute disgrace” and “embarrassing”.
But Guardiola said he would not go down the same route, Although Guardiola said he did not “understand” why play was brought back the manager refused to go any further.
When asked about the incident, he said: "Next question. I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment.
"It is hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he has already said to play on. After the pass, the whistle, so I do not understand this action.
"It was a good game, that is the most important thing. It was a pity, same as the Liverpool game, I had the feeling that today that we made an incredible performance in all departments, against a really good team and manager and how they play.
"We created a lot of chances, we were aggressive, incredibly concentrated, and the feeling is that we still want to be there [at the top of the table].
"It is a pity. Sometimes football is like life, you do not get what you deserve."
City were wasteful throughout the match, however, with Haaland missing an open goal and Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvaraz striking the post. Kulusevski’s 90th minute header rescued Tottenham a point at the Etihad and ended a run of three Premier League defeats in a row for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Kulusevski’s towering leap denied City victory in a breathless contest, which means Pep Guardiola’s champions have now dropped points in three consecutive games following draws against Chelsea and Liverpool.
Injury-hit Spurs took the lead when Son Heung-min finished off a clinical counter-attack, but the Tottenham captain then found the net at the other end two minutes later as he diverted a free-kick into his own goal.
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.
City were wasteful, however, and Spurs grabbed a deserved equaliser in the second half when Giovani Lo Celso curled in.
City woke themselves up in the final stages and Grealish punished a loose pass from Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma to restore their lead, before Kulusevski’s dramatic header settled the contest.
