Manchester City have been charged by the English Football Association with failing to control their players during Sunday's nail-biting 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Incensed players surrounded referee Simon Hooper when he awarded a free-kick to City late in stoppage time after initially waving play on for a foul on Erling Haaland, who had played teammate Jack Grealish through on goal for what could have been a potentially match-winning moment.
City were charged under rule E20.1, which mandates that a club must ensure its players do not “behave in a way which is improper, offensive, violent, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting or provocative”.
The club has until Thursday to appeal against the charge. Granted, no one wants to see players surrounding a referee like screaming hyenas at every contested call, but what looks "improper" or "threatening" or "provocative" through the FA's lens can look completely different through players'.