<p>The Football Association has hit Man City with a fine of £120,000 ($150,000) after several of their players had surrounded referee Simon Hooper following the recent 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium. Hooper called a play back after initially opting for an advantage to City in the 94th minute.</p>



<p>After Emerson Royal had fouled Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish was through on goal. This could have led to the winner, but Hooper pulled it back for a foul. This killed the reigning champions’ hope to score the winner. Several City players were enraged by the decision. They surrounded the referee and vented their anger, with Haaland prominently shouting at the official.</p>



<p>The FA, today, announced that they will be imposing a fine on City. Specifically, this is due to failing to control their players following the game. The case was heard by an independent panel.</p>



<h2>£120,000 fine for Man City after referee incident</h2>



<p>A written statement from the FA stated, “Manchester City FC have been fined £120,000 after their players surrounded a match official at the Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday 3 December. Manchester City FC admitted that they failed to ensure their players did not behave in an improper way during the 94th minute. An independent Regulatory Commission imposed this sanction following a hearing.”</p>



<p>City manager Pep Guardiola had also sarcastically hit out at fourth official Anthony Taylor when quizzed whether he had been provided an explanation on the controversial decision. The Spaniard had said, “’No, the master of commander Anthony Taylor knows everything in this business and didn’t tell me anything. When you review the image, the referee whistles after saying play on, and then after pass comes the whistle. This is what I don’t understand.”</p>



<h4>A potentially costly mistake</h4>



<p>Earlier, PMGOL chief Howard Webb had revealed that Hooper was devastated by the incident. He also confirmed that it was the wrong decision as the referee blew his whistle at the wrong time. Webb said, “He had refereed the game really well for 93 minutes but he knows this is going to be the only talking point really close to the end of the game.”</p>



<p>The former referee added, “I understand the disappointment that Manchester City felt on this one because it would have been a wonderful advantage. He just formed the opinion to blow just at the wrong time.”</p>



<p>“It looked like he was ready to play advantage. You never heard him shout advantage. I asked him about the arm, he said he didn’t even realize he was doing it in the moment. Disappointing for Simon, he would have loved to have played advantage to him there. I said to him afterward, “Just hold your hands up”.</p>



<p>“It’s difficult to be annoyed at a remorseful man, show your disappointment in the moment because he was certainly feeling that at the time. We took the learning from it and hopefully, he’ll not do it again.”</p>



<p>City have been in poor form of late having won just once in their last six league games. The Etihad outfit has fallen off the pace and is in fourth spot, trailing leaders Arsenal by 5 points having played 17 games.</p>



<p>Photo: Imago.</p>

FA fine Man City $150,000 after players rage at referee

Man City have been hit with a fine from the FA after confrontations with the referee at their last match vs Tottenham.

FA fine Man City $150,000 after players rage at referee - World Soccer Talk


<p>The VAR audio from Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal in Liverpool’s Premier League loss at Tottenham is now available for audiences to hear. The Professional Game Match Officials Board identified a <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/pgmol-surprise-statement-on-liverpool-controversial-offside-20231001-WST-459605.html">significant human error</a> in waving off the Colombian’s goal. Liverpool went on to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/tottenham-go-second-after-last-gasp-win-over-nine-man-liverpool-20230930-WST-459539.html">lose that game</a> at Tottenham, 2-1.</p>



<p>VAR audio shows the entire buildup to the goal. Immediately from the time Mohamed Salah played in Luis Diaz, the assistant referee said he was going to flag the play for offside. When Diaz scores, the referees initiate a quick VAR review. That is where things fall apart. </p>



<p>Video replay demonstrates Diaz was clearly onside. The VAR official says ‘check complete’ with the understanding the goal stood on the field. What he did not know was that the play was originally called offside. Therefore, by saying check complete, the on-field officials wave the game back on, and the goal never counts.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VAR AUDIO RELEASED <br><br>This is even worse than we could have imagined. Get rid of VAR or adopt semi-automated offside technology. 🤬<a href="https://t.co/Z2Jo0qEjB2">pic.twitter.com/Z2Jo0qEjB2</a></p>— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) <a href="https://twitter.com/worldsoccertalk/status/1709266875312382175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>A calamitous scene transpires as the VAR officials recognize their mistake. They toss around a pair of explicit terms as they desperately try to find a way to award Diaz’s goal. However, by that time, there was nothing to be done. The game continued, and Liverpool would lose by a single goal.</p>



<h2>Premier League VAR audio shows glaring issues</h2>



<p>This debacle demonstrates the human error of VAR. No referee is perfect. However, for the time VAR takes, it is a frankly embarrassing look for something this simple to fall apart because of simple miscommunication. The Premier League <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/premier-league-says-no-to-semi-automated-offside-technology-20230609-WST-436866.html">denied the new semi-automated offside technology</a> this season. This season and last, VAR made several headline mistakes that had key consequences.</p>



<p>Liverpool released a statement following the error that said it is <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/liverpool-exploring-options-after-var-disallowed-goal-blunder-20231002-WST-459667.html">exploring options to remedy this error</a>. Understandably, the VAR officials’ grave error frustrated Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.</p>



<p>“Nobody expects 100% right decisions but we thought when VAR came in it might make things easier,” Klopp told <em><a href="https://theathletic.com/4915926/2023/09/30/liverpool-tottenham-var-dias-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Athletic</a></em>. “The decision was made really quick, and it changed the momentum of the game. A similar situation occurred this season, between Wolves and&nbsp;Manchester United. Did Wolves get the points? It doesn’t matter.”</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Colorsport</em>.</p>


Premier League releases audio of Liverpool VAR mistake

The VAR audio from Luis Diaz's disallowed goal in Liverpool's Premier League loss at Tottenham is now available for audiences to hear.


<p>The Premier League dropped a trio of officials ahead of the weekend fixtures due to one key referee mistake. Simon Hooper, VAR Michael Salisbury, and assistant VAR Richard West were all penalized by the league for missing a blatant penalty call late in a match on Monday. </p>



<p>The incident in question occurred late in a matchup between <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a> and Wolves. With the Red Devils leading 1-0 at home, new United goalkeeper Andre Onana bundled into Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic. While Hooper failed to make the correct real-time decision, many onlookers assumed he would get help from VAR. Nevertheless, replay officials failed to intervene to make the call.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 BREAKING 🚨<br><br>The officials for last night’s game between Man Utd and Wolves have been dropped for next weekend.<br> <br>Referee Simon Hooper, video assistant ref Michael Sailsbury and assistant VAR Richard West have not been selected for a Premier League game. ❌ <a href="https://t.co/0eY8WmNg3h">pic.twitter.com/0eY8WmNg3h</a></p>— Football Daily (@footballdaily) <a href="https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1691386061988007936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2>Wolves coach: Premier League referee apologized after mistake</h2>



<p>After the match, Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil claimed that Jon Moss apologized for the error. Moss, a former Premier League referee, became general manager of England’s elite referees back in April. “Jon Moss said it was a blatant penalty and should have been given – fair play to him, he apologized,” O’Neil <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66506026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a> in his postgame press conference.</p>



<p>“Fair play to Jon for coming out and saying it was a clear and obvious error. He couldn’t believe the on-field referee didn’t give it and can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene. It probably made me feel worse, actually, because you know you are right. I feel worse about leaving with nothing. Live, I was told they didn’t think it was a clear and obvious error.”</p>



<h5>VAR official reprimanded for similar non-call in April</h5>



<p>Previously, the Premier League dropped Salisbury for a mistake while on VAR duty in April. The official failed to award Brighton a penalty in a match against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/tottenham-tv-schedule/">Tottenham Hotspur</a>. With the game tied 1-1, a Spurs defender tripped Kaoru Mitoma inside the box. However, match referee Stuart Attwell missed the incident, while Salisbury failed to award the spot kick.</p>



<p>Wolves welcomed the apology. However, it does not change the result. The visitors were the better team on the night and looked more potent going forward. In fact, Wolves rattled off 23 total shots in the game. Nevertheless, the West Midlands club had to leave Old Trafford without a point.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images</em></p>


Premier League drops referee after Wolves-Man United mistake

A trio of officials have been dropped by the Premier League ahead of the weekend fixtures due to one key referee mistake.

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FA fine Man City $150,000 after players rage at referee

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Premier League releases audio of Liverpool VAR mistake

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Premier League drops referee after Wolves-Man United mistake