Following their players’ encirclement of referee Simon Hooper during the last seconds of their 3–3 tie with Tottenham earlier this month, Manchester City was fined $152,000.
After an ill-advised challenge by Emerson Royal on Erling Haaland, Hooper made the controversial decision to resume play.
Hooper sounded his whistle to terminate a good attack, but Haaland managed to get back up and provide a through pass that sent Jack Grealish packing.
The players for City responded enthusiastically to it, with top scorer Haaland being especially enraged.
Once more, Haaland voiced his annoyance while working full-time, and he subsequently revealed his amusement in a message on the social media platform X, which was once known as Twitter.
Now that City has acknowledged that some of its players acted inappropriately, the Football Association has penalized the team.
“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,” a statement from the Football Association stated.
“Manchester City FC acknowledged that they were not vigilant enough to make sure that none of their players misbehaved in the ninetieth minute.
“An independent regulatory commission imposed this sanction following a hearing.”