FA and PGMOL make decision on referee Simon Hooper after controversial blunder against Man City

Simon Hooper was at the centre of another controversial incident when he stopped a late Manchester City counter attack vs Tottenham Hotspur.

Joe Bray Manchester City writer

12:04, 04 Dec 2023Updated 15:28, 04 Dec 2023

English referee Simon Hooper (C) is surrounded by players during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northwest England, on December 3, 2023.

Referee Simon Hooper is surrounded by Man City and Spurs players

Referee Simon Hooper will face no punishment for his late error in Manchester City's draw with Tottenham, after this week's referee appointments were confirmed.

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Hooper sparked fury among the City team when he initially signalled play on when Erling Haaland was fouled, only to pull play back for a free kick after Haaland had got up and sent Jack Grealish clean through on goal.

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City boss Pep Guardiola refused to criticise Hooper after the game, insisting that the decision was not the reason for the result, but did suggest that the official would be disappointed with his decision looking back.

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Now, the Premier League have confirmed their weekly appointments of referees, with the FA and PGMOL deciding that Hooper will face no punishment for the error in the form of a demotion. He was stood down from his next match earlier this season when he failed to award Wolves a clear penalty at Manchester United, when goalkeeper Andre Onana challenged Sasa Kalajdzic at a corner.

Sky Sports suggest that Hooper's decision in the 94th minute in the City-Spurs game has been accepted as 'human error' and therefore will not see him stood down for the midweek fixtures coming up. He will therefore officiate Sheffield United vs Liverpool as planned on Wednesday.

Sunday's fourth official, Anthony Taylor, who Guardiola sarcastically described as 'the master commander, who knows everything in the business,' will face a reunion with the City boss when he takes up the same role at Villa Park for City's trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday.

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While Guardiola stopped short of criticising Hooper, Bernardo Silva described it as a 'very, very bad decision' - but also added that 'sometimes people make mistakes'. Haaland took to X and posted a video of the incident with the caption 'wtf' [what the f---], which could see the FA investigate for breaching social media rules which include comments which "imply bias, attack the match officials’ integrity or which are personally offensive in nature."