Manchester City charged by FA over player conduct in Spurs draw
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Manchester City's Erling Braut Haaland and Mateo Kovacic remonstrate with referee Simon Hooper.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MANCHESTER - Manchester City have been charged by the Football Association with failing to control their players during the 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Dec 3.
Several City players surrounded referee Simon Hooper late in the game after he stopped play when Jack Grealish was through on goal for a foul on Erling Haaland in the build-up, having previously waved play-on.
Haaland continued to voice his anger as he left the field after the final whistle and he kept up his protests after the game by reposting a clip of the incident on X, formerly Twitter, with the comment “Wtf”, which is offensive slang.
Manager Pep Guardiola said he understood his forward’s anger.
“He’s a little bit disappointed,” the City boss said after the game. “Even the referee – if he played for Man City today he would be disappointed for that action, that’s for sure.”
"Manchester City have been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 after their players surrounded the match official during the Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur," the FA said in a statement on Monday.
"It's alleged that, during the 94th minute of the fixture, the club failed to ensure their players do not behave in way which is improper."
City have until Dec 7 to respond to the charge. They slipped to third in the standings after the draw, three points behind leaders Arsenal and their next fixture sees them travel to face Aston Villa on Dec 6. REUTERS