Pundit Gary Neville claims that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland deserves a red card for throwing the ball at Gabriel Magalhaes’ head after John Stones scored the late equaliser.
Referee Michael Oliver missed the incident, but it was spotted by video assistant referee John Brooks. However, he deemed it a non-punishable offence, and the FA is happy that the matter was dealt with on time.
Cameras caught the entire scene, with fans expressing their displeasure over the Norwegian’s poor attitude in the aftermath of the 2-2 draw at the Etihad.
If Gabriel Magalhaés had reacted to Haaland when he threw the ball at him.
The FA would have given Gabriel a five match ban and maybe one or two match bans for Haaland, but Haaland is free because Gabriel didn’t react 😕 pic.twitter.com/kkRsjwi680
— D’Hood Bros (@AfcHood) September 23, 2024
The 24-year-old didn’t face any retrospective action even after being involved in several on-field altercations. He deliberately ran into Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey in the second-half and still escaped a yellow card.
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After the final whistle, Sky Sports’ cameras caught Haaland saying ‘Stay Humble Eh’ to Mikel Arteta and then starting a heated argument with Gabriel Jesus.
Among all the antics, referee Oliver didn’t hand a single card to the Man City ace. Former Man United player turned pundit Neville claims that the striker deserved a red for purposely throwing the ball at Magalhaes’s head as revenge for scoring the second goal for Arsenal.
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News, he said: “The fact of the matter is that, as a football player – and this is not something that would be a rule in 2024, it would be a rule in 2014 or 2004 or whatever – if I threw the ball at Carra’s head directly from what would be a few metres away in a game, I think I would be red carded.”
“I think I would accept that that would be a red card if you purposely throw the ball at someone a couple of metres away – as much as me and Carra laughed at before when we saw it because it’s quite funny – the fact of the matter is it is a red card in football.”
Gary Neville on Haaland throwing the ball at Gabriel: “I think the fact of the matter is as a football player, if I threw the ball at Carra’s head directly in a game I think I would be red carded. I would accept that would be a red card.”
“As much as me and Carra laughed when we… pic.twitter.com/QPvbT2Sxt2
— Arteta’s Red Army #ArsenalFanaticsNews (@Arsenal23Wenger) September 26, 2024
Even former referee Christina Unkel was surprised to see Haaland escape a red for the ball-throwing incident even after the VAR spotted it.
However, Jamie Carragher believes that the City star should have received a yellow but not a red. The referee got too soft on the striker, but would they do the same if it was committed by an Arsenal player?
Magalhaes will surely be waiting to give the Norwegian a taste of his own medicine when the Citizens travel to Etihad in February for their second Premier League clash this season.
In the end, Haaland faced no sanctions and is available to face Premier League foes Newcastle United at St. James Park on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard, who received a red for kicking the ball away, will be eligible to play against Leicester City at the Emirates this Saturday. The player already served his one-game ban during the EFL Cup clash vs Bolton Wanderers.
