Pep Guardiola's answer to the controversy between Erling Haaland and referee Simon Hooper

Pep Guardiola doesn’t want sanctions from the Premier League after referee Simon Hooper denied Manchester City the opportunity to secure a crucial victory against Tottenham at Etihad Stadium.

In minute 94′, when the game was 3-3, Erling Haaland made a great effort to leave Jack Grealish alone in front of the Spurs’ goalkeeper despite being previously fouled. Grealish was heading towards the potential winning goal, but referee Simon Hooper halted the play.

At the end of the match, Pep Guardiola was asked by one of the reporters about his opinion on the controversial sequence. Just a few weeks ago, his pupil, Mikel Arteta, exploded over the poor quality of referees and VAR in the Premier League.

“Next question. I’ll not do a Mikel Arteta comment. It’s hard when you review the image. The referee decides to blow the whistle after he’s already said play on. After the pass, the whistle, I do not understand.”

What happened with Erling Haaland in Manchester City vs Tottenham?

Unlike Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland didn’t hold back his frustration over what happened. At the end of the game, the Norwegian forward lost control, yelling at the referee and several Tottenham players.

In fact, Haaland had to be restrained by his teammates as he was walking to the locker room. Otherwise, he probably would have started a fight. Furthermore, through his official X account, Erling expressed his disbelief at Simon Hooper’s decision.