Gary Lineker has now shared why he thinks Simon Hooper awarded a freekick in the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Tottenham.
The 63-year-old made the comments when speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast.
So, what did Gary Lineker say about Simon Hooper and Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
Gary Lineker comments on Manchester City and Simon Hooper
Well, the 41-year-old is in the headlines on Monday morning, but for all the wrong reasons.
Hooper bizarrely awarded Manchester City a freekick in the 94th minute of Sunday’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Tottenham, despite the fact Erling Haaland’s pass had put Jack Grealish through on goal.
The Swindon-born official could actually be seen allowing play to continue, but strangely chose to sound his whistle just as it became apparent Manchester City’s No.10 was clear through, rather than before the Norwegian’s pass reached him.
Now, Lineker – who also thinks Grealish lacks a bit of pace – has claimed that Hooper may have got mixed up with the shirt colours.
The BBC Match of the Day host said: “I wonder. I just think – maybe – in the split second of thought as the ball went through, that in his head, he got the shirt colours mixed up, and he thought it was a defender rather than Grealish. That’s the only explanation that possibly makes sense, but only he will know.”
A bit of a stretch – to say the least.
That isn’t to mock Lineker in any way whatsoever – his suggestion just goes to show that most people have been left truly scratching their head at Hooper’s decision, and are struggling to find logic behind it.
Manchester City lay down an unwanted first under Pep Guardiola
Ahead of Sunday’s clash, we detailed here on Manchester City News how the Citizens would make history under Pep Guardiola if they took the lead against Tottenham, only to throw away yet another win.
That is exactly what happened.
Not since 2009 have Manchester City failed to win three Premier League games in a row, in which they had gone ahead in those games – until now.
Three consecutive draws against Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham – despite leading in all of these outings – means Guardiola has achieved the unwanted feat, something the Citizens avoided doing for almost 15 years.
Hopefully, it acts as a wake up call – the treble winners are conceding far too many goals at the moment.
