FA make punishment decision on Erling Haaland’s X-rated social media post and referee confrontation

The Football Association have come to a decision over potential punishment for Erling Haaland’s X-rated outburst on social media on Sunday evening.

The Norway international striker took his anger to social media after the 3-3 draw against Tottenham at the weekend, following an incident involving Simon Hooper late on in the contest.

Erling Haaland was initially rewarded with an advantage in play having got up from a foul to play Jack Grealish in-behind the Spurs defence and run in on goal, only for Simon Hooper to call the play back to the original free-kick despite the ball being at the feet of the England international.

Haaland alongside his Manchester City players vented their frustrations in the face of the on-field match official, while the centre forward continued onto social media after the game responding to a post showcasing a replay of the incident.

In a post now seen over 54 million times on X, Erling Haaland responded with ‘Wtf’ to a video replay, before later admitting that he did not smile again until 24 hours after the incident with memes surfacing online from his protests on the Etihad Stadium pitch.

While it was originally anticipated that Erling Haaland would face punishment for his online outburst, it has now been confirmed that the Football Association will take no action on the Manchester City striker.

The club however have been notified of a charge from the FA for failing to control their players, specifically in relation to the surrounding of referee Simon Hooper in the 94th minute of the dramatic 3-3 draw with Ange Postecoglou’s side.

A statement from the Football Association read, “Manchester City have been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 after their players surrounding the match official during the Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 3 December 2023.

“It’s alleged that, during the 94th minute of the fixture, the club failed to ensure their players do not behave in a way which is improper.”

“Manchester City have until Thursday 7 December 2023 to respond to the charge.”