PGMOL Offers 'Partial' Apology to Manchester City After Haaland Incident vs Tottenham Hotspur

• The referee's body has admitted a mistake happened during Man City's game against Spurs
• Centre referee Simon Hooper gave advantage to the Citizens before recalling it seconds later
• The advantage had put Jack Grealish in a one-on-one to possibly win the game for his team

The English Premier League refereeing body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has admitted to a human error during the Manchester City versus Tottenham Hotspur game on December 3.

The two teams battled out to a riveting three-all draw at the Etihad Stadium, but Man City left the game seething with anger after a referee error.

At the start of stoppage time, Erling Haaland played Jack Grealish through for a one-on-one against Spurs goalkeeper, Guglielmo Vicario. The Norwegian had been fouled as he received the ball but managed to stay on his feet to release the pass.

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Centre referee, Simon Hooper was caught in two minds as he initially signalled for advantage, only for him to blow the whistle after Grealish had received the ball.

The decision provoked an angry reaction from City players, with Haaland storming off the pitch after the final whistle.

PGMOL explain the decision

Appearing on Match Officials Mic'd Up on Sky Sports, PGMOL chief, Howard Webb admitted that Hooper made an officiating mistake.

"He was devastated. He refereed the game really well for 93 minutes but he knows this is going to be the only talking point, right at the end of the game. I asked him about the arm and he said he didn't even realise he was doing it in the moment. It was disappointing for Simon, he would have loved to have played advantage there."

The draw was City's third in the Premier League before going down to Aston Villa in midweek. Pep Guardiola's side have since bounced back with a 2-1 win over Luton Town.

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All VAR apologies since last season

When the Video Assistant Referee was introduced to the Premier League in 2019, many thought the era of players getting away with wrong decisions or referees making incorrect decisions was behind us.

However, seasons later, the complaints have been loud, with PGMOL being forced to issue apologies to teams. Sports Brief looked at all the other times the body has offered an apology after VAR mistakes.