Man City charged by FA over players' behaviour in Tottenham draw

Manchester City have been charged by the FA in the wake of their draw with Tottenham.

City were held to a 3-3 draw by Spurs at the Etihad on Sunday in a match that ended in controversial circumstances.

Pep Guardiola's side looked to have snatched all three points when Jack Grealish scored his first Premier League goal of the season late on, before a brilliant header from Dejan Kulusevski levelled the scores with just minutes remaining.

City had a late chance when Grealish went clear in the final moments after being set up by Erling Haaland. However, referee Simon Hooper opted to blow his whistle for a foul in the build-up despite initially signalling an advantage to City.

Several City players surrounded the referee after that decision and again at full-time, and the Manchester club has now been charged by the FA.

"Manchester City have been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 after their players surrounded the match official during the Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 3 December 2023," read a statement released by the FA.

"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."

Haaland was particularly furious at full-time and took to social media to express his frustration, posting "Wtf" on X in response to Hooper's decision.

However, BBC journalist Simon Stone confirmed that striker will face no individual punishment for his actions.

Manchester City were held to a 3-3 draw by Tottenham (Image: Getty)

"Man City charged for behaviour of their players around injury-time incident yesterday. Erling Haaland will face no further action," posted Stone.

Speaking after the match, Guardiola struggled to hide his frustration and chose to aim a dig at Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in his post-match interview.

"I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment. The referee will now whistle after saying play on, after the pass then whistles. So I don't know," said Guardiola.

Former City assistant manager Arteta responded to Guardiola's comment on Monday by awkwardly avoiding the question.

When asked if he smiled when he saw Guardiola's interview, Arteta laughed awkwardly before replying: "On to the next one please."