Manchester City striker Erling Haaland could be hit with a ban from the Football Association for his outburst towards referee Simon Hooper during Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Haaland was left apoplectic after Hooper, having initially played advantage after Haaland shrugged off a foul and sent Jack Grealish through on goal in stoppage time, decided to pull the play back for a free kick while the England winger was still charging towards the Spurs goal.
Confused by the call, Haaland screamed right in the face of Hooper before embarking on a frustrated march around the pitch that also saw him exchange feisty words with Giovani Lo Celso before the evening was over.
Haaland then took to social media to post a video of the incident with the caption “Wtf” – an abbreviation of ‘what the f**k’.
Both the initial clash with Hooper and the social media post are expected to land Haaland in hot water when the FA review the official’s report of the game.
The incident quickly drew similarities to one involving Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk earlier in the season.
Van Dijk was shown a red card early in September’s 2-1 win over Newcastle United but initially refused to leave the pitch, instead opting to remain and protest the decision from referee John Brooks.
The Dutch defender was later charged by the FA for his behaviour and admitted to acting “in an improper manner” and using “abusive and insulting words towards a match official”, earning himself a one-match ban.
Any suspension for Haaland would not be immediate, with an investigation and an appeal’s process likely to take a matter of weeks.
City are back in action against Aston Villa on Wednesday and have games against Luton Town, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Everton and Sheffield United coming up before the end of the month.
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