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AUDIO from Erling Haaland’s meltdown against Tottenham has been released.
The Manchester City striker reacted furiously after referee Simon Hooper denied his side a chance to win the game.
During the closing stages of the 3-3 draw on December 3, Haaland sent Jack Grealish through on goal after being fouled by Emerson Royal.
However, Hooper blew his whistle to pull the game back after initially waving play on.
His decision prompted an angry reaction from the City players, with Haaland confronting the official before exploding into an X-rated rant as he left the pitch at full-time.
Audio from the incident has now been released in the latest instalment of Match Officials Mic’d Up. PGMOL chief Howard Webb put the decision down to human error as he explained the footage.
Hooper can be heard saying: “No, sorry,” after blowing his whistle before being surrounded by City players.
He then repeatedly tells them “calm” as Haaland gestures and shouts in his face.
Reflecting on the incident, Webb said: “It is an officiating mistake.
“As officials, we’re always looking to have that positive impact on the game by trying to identify occasions when we can allow the game to play through an advantage and Simon Hooper is normally good at identifying those things.
“On this occasion, he sees a pretty strong, reckless foul by Emerson Royal on Haaland and it’s in midfield and the ball comes backwards.
“He does the hard work and just hesitates for a moment to see whether an advantage is possible.
“And he recognises it by going through his mind that it was a strong challenge, it was reckless and he is going to have to caution [Royal].
“At ground level, it’s not quite easy to see how things are playing out compared to an elevated view.
“And he decides to penalise just at the moment when the ball is about to go and then realises that a wonderful advantage was available.
“For sure, he was devastated. He refereed the game really well for 93 minutes but he knows this is going to be the only talking point, right at the end of the game.” – The Sun.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter