Manchester City is fined £120,000 by the Football Association after its players surrounded referee Simon Hooper during the recent 3-3 draw against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.
The referee made a controversial decision in the 94th minute of the match to call off the game after initially being in the ascendancy.
As City attacked, Emerson Royal appeared to foul Erling Haaland, but Hooper waved his hand first. Despite the foul, the Norwegian striker was able to play the ball to Jack Grealish, who broke free and headed towards goal.
Hooper then whistled, brought play back and converted the free-kick, ending City’s hopes of a potential late winner.
Hooper’s decision angered several City star players, including Haaland, who circled the referee to anger him, with the Norwegian appearing to shout at the referee.
The Football Association announced today that it would be fining City, saying in a statement: “Manchester City Football Club has been fined £120,000 after its players surrounded an official referee during a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday 3 December,” the FA said in a statement.
Manchester City FC admitted that it failed to ensure that its players did not behave in an inappropriate manner in the 94th minute.
The Independent Regulatory Commission imposed this sanction after a hearing.
This came after the FA announced on 4 December that the club would be charged for “failing to supervise its players” and that the matter would be heard by an independent panel.
Haaland also made several posts on his social networks after the match expressing his disappointment at the decision, but was not charged by the governing body for these statements.
Pep Guardiola also sarcastically hit out at fourth official Anthony Taylor after the match, asking him if he had been given an explanation for the controversial decision.
The Spanish selector replied, “No, the master captain Anthony Taylor knows everything in this business and he didn’t tell me anything.
He added: “When you look at the footage, the referee blows his whistle when he says play on and then after the pass the whistle blows. I don’t understand that.
PGMOL manager Howard Webb revealed last week that Hooper was left “frustrated” by the incident, insisting that the referee had merely blown his whistle at the wrong time.
“It’s a refereeing error and VAR has no role to play in this,” Webb said on Match Officials Mic’d Up.
Of Hooper, he added: “He was certainly frustrated. He refereed the game very well for 93 minutes, but he knows that will be the only talking point right before the end of the game.
“I understand the disappointment Manchester City felt because it would have been a wonderful advantage. He just formed the opinion that it was going to blow over at the wrong time.
“It looked like he was prepared to play on the advantage. You never heard him shouting advantage. I asked him about the hand, he said he didn’t even realise he was doing it at that moment.
‘Disappointing for Simon, I would have loved to have played him the advantage. After the game I said to him, ‘Just put your hands up’.”
‘It’s hard to be angry with a repentant person, to show your disappointment at that moment, because he must have felt it at the time. We have learnt from that and I hope he will not do it again.’