Memes of Erling Haaland are lighting up social media after his outburst at referee Simon Hooper during Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham.
Haaland was incandescent at Hooper when he pulled play back for a free-kick while Jack Grealish ran through towards goal in the dying moments, having given advantage after a foul on Haaland.
His livid expression while remonstrating with Hooper is already an iconic photo, encapsulating the emotional stresses of elite sport while also shining a light on the abuse officials receive.
It’s little surprise that internet creatives have pounced on the opportunity to produce memes as a result, making the most of Haaland’s dramatic expression.
One of them shows Haaland’s enraged face plastered on to an image of Taylor Armstrong from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, in a popular meme format which shows often her shouting and pointing her finger at a confused cat.
Manchester City players, led by Erling Haaland, complained after the referee blew up for a foul
One meme showed Erling Haaland as Taylor Armstrong from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Another inserted the Man City striker into Edvard Munch’s iconic painting, The Scream
Haaland could not escape being turned into cartoon cat Tom from Tom and Jerry
Elsewhere, the 23-year-old marksman was turned into a lady screaming down the phone
Another internet creative also compared Haaland with Pokemon character Gyrados
Another shows Haaland as an annoyed version of Tom, the cat from Tom and Jerry, with puffed out cheeks and suspicious eyes.
Elsewhere, Haaland is depicted as an enraged lady shouting down the phone, but the fun doesn’t stop there.
One of the more artistic memes floating around inserts the Manchester City striker in to Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream, symbolising the anxiety of the human condition.
In a more modern cultural twist, Haaland is also compared to Pokemon character Gyrados.
It all serves to help immortalise a peculiar moment in Premier League history.
Haaland was furious with Hooper after the contentious reversal of a decision to play advantage when he had slipped Jack Grealish clean through in stoppage time to try and better Dejan Kulusevski’s late equaliser.
Haaland was furious at referee Simon Hooper for failing to give City an advantage late on, giving a free-kick instead
He appeared to scream ‘F*** off! F*** off! towards Hooper, which saw him earn a yellow card
Jack Grealish was through on goal when referee Hooper called it back for the foul
Haaland took to X (formerly Twitter) to vent his frustration – but could be penalised by the FA
Mail Sport has launched a campaign to stop the abuse of referees at all levels of the game
The City striker was fouled but quickly got up and played Grealish through on goal only for Hooper to pull play back and award a free-kick.
That decision left him and his team-mates incredulous with Haaland appearing to scream ‘F*** off! F*** off!’ towards Hooper, which consequently earned him a booking.
And the 23-year-old could find himself in further hot water with the Football Association after stating ‘what the f***’ in a social media post commenting on Hooper’s late call.
Haaland also had a bust up with Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso as he stormed down the tunnel on an afternoon of acrimony at the Etihad Stadium that saw City go winless in three consecutive matches for the first time since 2017.
Haaland and Giovani Lo Celso had a violent collision as the Norwegian was leaving the pitch after the 3-3 draw
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