‘Complete and utter mess’… Alan Shearer left baffled by ‘ridiculous’ incident in Man City vs Everton
During the second half of the match at Goodison Park on Wednesday, City were awarded a penalty after a shot at goal from Nathan Ake struck Amadou Onana on the arm.
With Julian Alvarez scoring the penalty to put the away side 2-1 up, the game ended 3-1 after Bernardo Silva scored a late goal to secure all three points for Pep Guardiola’s team.
After the game, one pundit felt the need to weigh in on the penalty decision and what happened during the incident.
Shearer baffled by handball penalty decision
He said: “We’ve said it before, the handball [rule] is a complete and utter mess, it’s ridiculous. I also have to say I think the ref was possibly influenced because of the actions of some of the Man City players that were right in front of him appealing and making it very difficult for him not to give it.”
Toffees boss Sean Dyche labelled the decision as “bizarre” after the match had ended before claiming that Onana’s arm position was “completely natural.”
On Sky Sports Ref Watch, former referee Dermot Gallagher described this particular incident as a “modern-day penalty” and that he knew it would be given as soon as he saw the replay.
Despite the questioning of the handball law from Shearer and Dyche, City undoubtedly felt that the right decision was made, which ultimately helped them leave Goodison with a victory to keep them in the title race.
Moving forward, the best thing City can do now is use their midweek victory to kickstart a run of consistent victories to get them to the top of the league table and in with great chance of regaining the title.
