Erling Haaland was left fuming after Manchester City were denied a potential injury-time winner against Tottenham by a bizarre refereeing decision.
A thrilling game at the Etihad Stadium ended 3-3 with Dejan Kulusevski scoring in the final minute of normal time.
As City pushed for a winner in the final moments, Haaland was fouled by Emerson Royal and match official Simon Hooper played advantage to allow the striker to send Jack Grealish through on goal, only to second later below his whistle to bring the play back.
Haaland led the protests and screamed into the face of Hooper to no avail, and when the full-time whistle blew shortly after he stormed down the tunnel and soon reposted a clip of the incident on X with the caption: "Wtf."
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) December 3, 2023
Pundit Roy Keane said after that Hooper's decision with a clear error. He said: "I think obviously the referee’s made a mistake. It’s a poor call, he’s got it wrong, obviously Jack is through on goal, for some reason he blows the whistle. He’s got that wrong, we can all see that."
Former Manchester City star Micah Richards added: "The referee had a brilliant game until this moment. He puts the whistle to his mouth, then he stops, he waves it on to play advantage, Jack Grealish is clearly onside and now he stops the play. I don’t quite understand it.
"He didn't blow it first time, he should have let play go on."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 3, 2023
A closer look at the controversial late decision when Jack Grealish was through on goal 🔍 pic.twitter.com/7yosxXxiJa
"The evidence is there for all to see, he didn’t blow it first time, he should have let play go on and Grealish is one-on-one with the goalkeeper. You can’t explain it.
"He’s entitled to make a mistake, but the problem I have with that is that we’ve had so many situations where play is allowed to go on. If you’re in doubt just leave the play to go on and you can always bring it back. That’s why Man City will feel aggrieved."
Pep Guardiola after the game initially refused to comment on the incident, insisting he was not going to "do a Mikel Arteta" but then accepted that such incidents can happen.
