Haaland avoids punishment for ball incident against Arsenal

Erling Haaland will not face any retrospective punishment after throwing the match ball at Gabriel Magalhaes’ head just moments after Manchester City’s last-gasp equaliser against Arsenal at the Etihad on Sunday.

Man City, who went ahead through Haaland early on during the fiercely-fought contest, found themselves 2-1 down at half-time after Riccardo Calafiori scored a superb equaliser from distance and Gabriel netted a towering header from a corner.

Arsenal were, however, reduced to 10 men after Leandro Trossard picked up a second yellow card for kicking the ball away — and opted to camp in and defend for the remainder of the match in the hope of holding on to their slender advantage. 

John Stones ultimately earned City a vital point with an equaliser in the 98th minute, after the champions bossed an astonishing 88 per cent of possession in the second half.

Fired up after his team-mate’s late leveller, Haaland ran to collect the ball from the goal and threw it directly at Gabriel, who had his face inside his shirt in disappointment.

Haaland grabbed the ball after John Stones’ equaliser and threw it at the back of Gabriel’s head

Haaland sparked a melee at the end of Sunday’s thrilling match, which ended in a 2-2 draw

The ball connected with the back of the Brazilian’s head and bobbled back into the goal, prompting anger from the Arsenal’s dejected players. 

VAR reviewed the incident and deemed that no action was necessary at the time, and now it is understood the Norwegian will not face any retrospective punishment either.

Straight from the restart, Haaland bundled into Thomas Partey and sent the midfielder to the floor in a heap, sparking a brawl with Gabriel and his Gunners team-mates just inside the Arsenal half.

Micah Richards admitted that it’s positive ‘to see a bit of needle’ ahead of what promises to be another enthralling title race, but fellow pundit Roy Keane urged that throwing the ball at the back of someone’s head is a step too far. 

‘You don’t need that, you don’t need that,’ Keane said on Sky Sports after the match. ‘Someone throwing the back of your head… I don’t mind that bit (Haaland’s spat with Gabriel after bundling over Partey), but you don’t need that.’

Asked whether City and Arsenal are becoming ‘proper rivals’ now, Keane added: ‘Yeah, it’s nice to see. You need that little bit of needle because City know Arsenal are trying to hunt them down. And the more you dislike a team, the more there’s a bit of respect there. 

Roy Keane urged that the ball throwing incident was a step too far after the heated clash

Micah Richards, right, agreed but admitted it was ‘good to see a bit of needle’ between them

‘I love seeing that, it adds to the game. We obviously know there are quality players on the pitch, but the needle we’ve seen a few times there, love it.’

When asked if Haaland should be criticised for his behaviour in those moments, Richards said: ‘Well, the ball in the back of the head’s not good, but all the needle stuff, no that’s what you want. 

‘He’s up against two centre-halves (Gabriel and William Saliba) who’ve had the better of him over the last couple of games. He’s scored today, he’s happy, that’s the difference.’