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This is the picture that defined the weekend’s Premier League action – and caused debate around the world.
Erling Haaland reacted wildly to referee Simon Hooper’s decision to deny him an advantage in the final minutes of Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Haaland was fouled in the City half, but Hooper initially indicated an advantage as Haaland released the ball, but Jack Grealish pulled the ball back on goal.
Haaland – and other City players – remonstrated with Hooper on the pitch. The striker also reposted a clip of the incident on Twitter, commenting “WTF”.
City have now also been charged by the Football Association over how their players cornered Hooper, with the FA alleging that “the club failed to ensure that their players did not behave inappropriately.”
There has been much debate about refereeing in England over the past few weeks, particularly following Mikel Arteta’s reaction to Anthony Gordon’s goal being allowed at Newcastle in the middle of last month.
Here, athletic’s Experts give their thoughts on the photo – and Holland’s reaction.
This is a terrible picture. I understand the frustration, but when it boils over like this – yelling in the referee’s face, yelling “F*** off” – it is unacceptable and inexcusable. We can all easily explain the frustration, as it was clear that Simon Hooper should have taken the advantage, but you can’t possibly forgive the referee being harassed like that.
Nor can the FA allow it to go through without being punished. Such as when Manchester United players heckled Andy D’Urso in 2000, such as when Gianluigi Buffon shouted at Michael Oliver in 2018, such as when Jurgen Klopp shouted at fourth official John Brooks this year, the game A strong message needs to be sent that this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated.
It was one of those decisions that will drive you crazy. But players have to learn that if they confront the referee as Haaland did – and as Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and most other Manchester City players did not – they will be punished.
And, apart from missing a game due to suspension, I would love to see misbehaving players and managers take up the role of referee in a grassroots game as part of their sanction. This can teach them that it is not as easy as they think.
oliver’s
(Neil Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)
Once upon a time, I worked as a referee in the Sunday League.
My general understanding, especially in frantic moments in games, was that you can forgive many things during the first three to five seconds of spontaneous excitement, especially when you as a referee know you made a mistake. .
But beyond that, players and coaches need to be able to regain a sense of perspective. So the initial disappointment – even if it’s imperfect in a freeze frame – isn’t a big issue for me.
The dramatic unraveling of Haaland’s blonde hair, his frenzied stomp off the pitch and the subsequent “WTF” tweet (viewed over 50 million times), put pressure on an official, perhaps, at least, to remind him of his responsibilities. Needed.
For what it’s worth, I’m not sure Grealish had the speed to run and score, with some defenders also running in behind, and the more likely reason for City not winning the game on Sunday was sloppy defending and Haaland Had to be unusually irregular. finishing.
adam crafton
The stills look bad, as was the case with Klopp vs Brooks.
I sympathize somewhat because while playing you get caught up in the moment, it becomes hard to control your emotions and it’s a shocking decision that potentially cost them the win. We are all guilty of doing this.
Yet equally, no one can argue that having players around referees is a good thing. It resembles the irritable children in the school playground.
One thing that rugby union gets right that football doesn’t is the respect shown to the referee.
tom burroughs
To think that, for centuries, women have been told that we are over-emotional…
I’m just kidding – but frankly, the photo doesn’t look good. Maybe it’s just unlucky timing. After all, any number of players or managers could be guilty of this – it’s not just Erling Haaland’s problem. But it says something about the relationship between the football world and referees at the moment.
Referees are abusing on a level never seen before and we are losing a lot from the game in a way that is unlikely to be sustainable. At the same time, the confidence fans and players have in him has never waned, when the risks and rewards based on the outcome of single decisions have never been higher.
Please send replies on how to rebuild the bridge of trust and respect between referees and footballers on a postcard addressed to Mr H Webb, PGMOL Headquarters.
@tifofootball_ The referee now has his own TV show #Referee #VAR #PremierLeague #Football #Soccer ♬ Original Sound – Tifo Football
nancy froston
Haaland and his City teammates surround Hooper (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
You can’t beat the spirit and intensity of the game. A perfect way to express yourself. But the emotional reaction in that photo is normal and you shouldn’t be penalized for it. This is why comparisons with rugby union don’t always work, because football is far more fluid and less stop-start.
That said, consistent negative reactions on the pitch and after the game (for example, Arsenal’s statement after Haaland’s historicity here or Arteta’s reaction to refereeing decisions), is where you probably need a penalty.
In the City-Spurs game, it’s clearly the referee’s fault. Hopper knows this. It’s a bad mistake, but there’s no need to attack him for it. That’s not to say other mistakes weren’t made during the game, such as missing an open goal…
Disagreement The idea of a sin bin is a good thing in principle, but it also has the potential to be misused. I recently played a game with the Sin Bins in the Sunday League where someone was chatting to the referee constantly and unnecessarily. The sin bin worked. When he came back to the field, he was calm and did not say anything to the referee. The refereeing game was excellent, easy to manage.
Cross the line and you must be punished. Basically that doesn’t happen enough in football. Enforcement of dissent has been too lax for too long.
Peter Rutzler
It is an appalling reaction and there is no room for it, just as there was no room for Klopp’s anger at the fourth official. This thing matters, it accumulates and seeps down the pyramid, a steady stream of toxicity that ends with grown men shouting at teenage referees in the park at the weekend because their children’s under-nines team No penalty received.
The referee made a mistake, and it’s a huge one, but it’s worth remembering that he has run over 10km at this point, he doesn’t get paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a week and, as far as I remember , that’s as many catastrophic mistakes as Holland made that afternoon.
But what impressed me most was that we just moaned about VAR for two weeks and screamed for a return to the days when referees just refereed and we all got on with it. Well, it was a ref’s ref’s ref and people are still racking their brains and yelling about conspiracies.
Maybe the problem isn’t the referee…
ian mackintosh
How did Pep Guardiola react to the incident?
City manager Pep Guardiola defended Haaland but refused to criticize Hooper for the decision.
“Sometimes I lose my mind about referees, but not here. People can always make mistakes,” he said.
“What surprised me was that when Erling went down he went to blow the whistle, but when he stood back up and passed the pass, the referee signaled play on. But then when the ball went to Jack, the whistle blew.”
Asked about Haaland, Guardiola said: “It’s normal.
“He is a little disappointed. Even the referee – if he played for Manchester City today, he would be disappointed with that action, that’s for sure.
“But I would say we didn’t draw because of him.”
(Top photo: Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
